Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Walgreens Caved Too Easily To Abortion Pill Demands
Los Angeles Times: Walgreens Is Despicable For Bowing To Pressure Not To Sell Abortion Pills In Some States
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this year that it would allow drugstore chains to sell mifepristone, the highly regulated first drug taken in a two-drug regimen for medication abortion, Walgreens and other pharmacy chains eagerly stepped up and said they would go through the required certification process. (3/8)
Los Angeles Times: Abortion Opponents Are Trying To Revoke FDA Approval Of A Drug. That's Scary
In the post-Roe world, one of the prime targets of antiabortion activists is medication abortion, a two-drug regimen in which a pregnant person takes mifepristone followed by misoprostol. (3/6)
Chicago Tribune: Banning Abortion Pill Mifepristone Would Be A Terrible Policy Choice And Violate Human Rights
Patients’ access to lifesaving medicine is under threat because an anti-abortion rights organization sued in federal district court to overrule the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, which has been used to terminate early pregnancies for almost a quarter century in the U.S. If the judge, appointed by the previous federal administration, rules for the plaintiffs, a medicine considered essential by the World Health Organization will become illegal to distribute or use in the U.S. (Anna Calasanti, Tamara Kay and Susan Ostermann, 3/6)
The Washington Post: Antiabortion-Pill Suit Imperils Drug Development And Access
The lawsuit in Texas filed with the goal of removing a common abortion medication, mifepristone, from the market nationwide has the potential to disrupt the drug approval and development system more broadly. This could affect patients’ access to a variety of medications and weaken pharmaceutical companies’ incentives to develop new drugs. (Greer Donley and Rachel Sachs, 3/3)
The New York Times: A New Battle In The War On Abortion Pills
A ruling expected soon from a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas could halt the provision of a drug called mifepristone for use in abortions. This would potentially make the drug very difficult to come by in all states — including those where abortion is legal. (Dana M. Johnson, 3/5)
Also —
The Star Tribune: All We Have To Fear Is High Drug Prices
Pharmaceutical lobbyists are once again using scare tactics to mislead the public on our efforts to bring Minnesotans real relief on prescription drug costs. The latest comes from a Washington-based executive claiming "Price controls would harm state's biotech economy" (Opinion Exchange, Feb. 23). (Zack Stephenson and Kelly Morrison, 3/2)
Modern Healthcare: Pharmacists Know All About Medications, So Why Can’t They Prescribe Them?
The neighborhood pharmacist has played a critical role in American towns for centuries. People usually see their pharmacists more often than their family doctor. These professionals understand medications, dosages and drug interactions. (Alicia Plemmons, 3/2)
Stat: Congress Must Fix The IRA's Small Molecule Penalty
In opposing a fix to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a leading voice in the effort to move the U.S. biopharmaceutical system toward European-style price controls cited “complicated details” in his reasoning for changing the law, adding that “getting it straight is critically important.” (John Stanford, 3/6)
