Perspectives: FDA Nominee’s Industry Ties And Contempt For Caution A Danger To Patients
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Stat:
Gottlieb As FDA Commissioner Would Be Music To Pharma's Ears
When President Trump nominated Scott Gottlieb for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, you could almost hear the sigh of relief that rippled through the health care community. That’s because Gottlieb isn’t Jim O’Neill, whose name had also been floated for commissioner. O’Neill has no background in health care except as a venture capitalist, and thinks that the way to speed new drugs to the market is for the FDA to drop any requirements that drug makers demonstrate that their products actually work. Gottlieb, in contrast, is an internal medicine physician and a drug company insider, who presumably knows you need at least some scientific evidence for efficacy. (Judith Garber and Shannon Brownlee, 4/4)
Bloomberg:
Pharma Tests Preemptive Discounting
Sanofi, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Roche Holding AG are doing something very un-pharma: They're leaving pricing power on the table. Let's be clear: Sanofi and Regeneron are charging $37,000 a year for their skin-clearing drug Dupixent, and Roche is charging $65,000 a year for its Multiple Sclerosis (MS) drug Ocrevus, both of which the FDA approved earlier this week. That's not exactly chump change. (Max Nisen, 3/30)
The Hill:
Drug Importation From Canada Increases Patient Risk With No Guarantee Of Lower Prices
Drug pricing is once again being debated in Washington and in state capitals. One of the proposals on the table – importation of medicines from Canada – poses dangerous patient risks. This proposal is intended to reduce the price Americans pay for medicines. But the risks to patient safety far outweigh any cost savings – which are likely to be minimal anyway. That is why four former commissioners of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to Congress on March 16 cautioning against such an approach. (Ronald T. Piervincenzi, 3/31)
RealClear Health:
Another Sneaky PBM Practice Needs To End
When the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Express-Scripts, and the insurance giant Anthem, Inc. sued each other last year over how much each company made in profits, the curtain was raised on the oversized role PBMs play in determining what consumers pay for their prescription drugs. (Stacey Worthy, 4/5)
The Baltimore Sun:
Md. Bill Threatens Generic Drug Competition
Jokes about doctors delivering good news and bad news are common. I have good news and bad news to deliver, but it is no joke. The good news is that your prescription medicine costs can be contained by greater generic drug competition. The bad news is that our attorney general is doing all he can to kill that competition. There is a bill backed by Attorney General Brian Frosh, House Bill 631, moving through the Maryland General Assembly propelled by an unhealthy mixture of bad economics and political theater. It threatens the one sector of our health care economy that is saving all of us money — generic medicines. (Steve Hershey, 4/3)
Chicago Tribune:
With Trumpcare Off The Table, Let's Address The High Cost Of Prescription Drugs
Now that the Trump-Ryan alternative to Obamacare has failed, the administration and Congress are turning their attention to other matters. But significant work remains in order to shore up our national health care system. Chief among the challenges is the rising cost of prescription drugs. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll even found that 60 percent of Americans — including a majority of Republicans — think lowering prescription drug prices should be a top priority for President Donald Trump and Congress. (Raja Krishnamoorthi, 4/3)
Bloomberg:
Incyte Is Smart To Date Around
When it comes to cancer drugs, monogamy is overrated. Incyte Corp. recently announced an expanded collaboration with Merck & Co. on late-stage studies of combinations of immune-oncology (IO) drugs, which use a patient's immune system to fight cancer. Two days later, Incyte said it would also run similar late-stage trials with Merck's bitter IO rival Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. It already had earlier-stage trials ongoing with similar medicines from Roche Holding AG and AstraZeneca PLC. (Max Nisen, 4/4)
