Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Shortcomings Of Democrats' Rx For Drug Pricing
Stat: Democrats' Drug Pricing Bill Will Distort Drug Development
After months of wrangling, Democratic lawmakers have agreed on a drug pricing bill. The House could vote on it within days.If it becomes law, we’re going to see some unfortunate consequences that legislators can’t possibly have intended. By ignoring what they may have thought were minor details, they’re about to distort the entire drug-development ecosystem to society’s detriment. (Peter Kolchinsky, 11/9)
The Wall Street Journal: A Toxic Drug-Price Deal
So much for self-reflection after a political drubbing. Democrats are responding to last week’s defeat by rushing President Biden’s spending framework through the House while rewriting it on the fly—and they’ll worry about the consequences later. Consider the latest compromise to reduce drug prices, which will do the opposite. Progressives hope that passing legislation in the name of lower prices will increase senior support for their spending bill. But some House Democrats balked at earlier legislation that imposed draconian price controls that would have killed the incentive for drug innovation. Enter Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, who pieced together an agreement between their party’s warring factions. It should come with a black-box warning. (11/8)
Stat: The Hurried Push By Congress To Address Drug Costs Shouldn’t Undermine The Vast Savings From Generics And Biosimilars
Americans rightfully expect Congress to address the ever-increasing prices of brand-name prescription drugs. But the wholesale policy changes now under rushed consideration in Congress will undermine the only proven solution to this long-standing problem: competition from Food and Drug Administration-approved generic and biosimilar medicines. Generic and biosimilar medicines generated $2 trillion in savings to the U.S. health care system over the last decade. Yet proposals in the reconciliation package will jeopardize the development of these less-expensive drugs, harming Americans rather than helping them. (Dan Leonard, 11/6)
Politico: Vaccine Manufacturers Are Profiteering. History Shows How To Stop Them
For Pfizer and Moderna, business is booming. Their latest financial reports confirm that each company will collect billions of dollars in profits this year from sales of their Covid-19 vaccines. Demand will likely remain high in the coming weeks, thanks to recent FDA authorizations of vaccines for younger children, booster shots for adults and additional global sales. As we approach the end of the first year of mass inoculations, we have enough evidence to know that the new vaccines are remarkably safe and effective, and they were developed with astonishing speed. For this, Pfizer and Moderna deserve credit for a job well done. However, those same companies also need to be understood as profiteers. History shows why they deserve this designation; it also suggests how Congress might act, to limit their excessive gains. (Mark R. Wilson, 11/4)
Stat: Molnupiravir For Covid-19: Another Opportunity To Recognize Inequity
The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color and those with lower socioeconomic means, two groups that overlap to a significant extent in the U.S. Merck’s submission of molnupiravir, its oral antiviral drug, to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization will only heighten inequities wrought by the pandemic. Merck and others have touted this drug as a game-changer. Although the data from randomized controlled trials have not been made available for review, the press release claims that a five day course of molnupiravir is associated with a 6.8% absolute reduction in hospitalization or death in patients with moderate Covid-19 not requiring hospitalization when the drug is taken within five days of the onset of symptoms. Assuming this information is accurate, early use of molnupiravir may lead to significant reductions in hospitalizations and deaths. (Anand Swaminathan, Utibe R. Essien and Esther Choo, 11/3)
