Pharma Loves Cop Shows: A Look At How Industry Spends Its Money On TV Ads

Stat: Which TV Shows Get Blanketed By Pharma Ads — And Which Don’t? You’d Be Surprised
Depending on which show you’re watching, prescription drug makers are responsible for as many as 38 percent of ads during commercial breaks — or as few as virtually none at all. That’s according to data from the media research firm iSpot.tv covering the valuable 8-10 p.m. primetime slot over the 12 months that concluded at the end of July. Drug advertisers usually don’t target down to the level of specific TV shows when they’re buying ad spots. Though there are exceptions: when drug marketers launched the statin Lipitor in the late ’90s, they narrowed in on the hospital drama “ER” because it was one of the hottest shows on TV and its medical theme sent all the right messages. (Robbins, 8/29)

The Washington Post: Gilead’s $11.9 Billion Purchase Of A Groundbreaking Cancer Therapy Could Drag It Into A New Debate On Prices
Gilead Sciences has ended the long-running suspense about what it would do with some of the billions in cash it has amassed from selling effective, but expensive hepatitis C drugs: Buy a groundbreaking cancer therapy. Gilead, which has come under congressional investigation for the $84,000 price tag it put on its first hepatitis C drug, announced Monday it would shell out $11.9 billion to acquire California-based Kite Pharma. The acquisition could stir a whole new debate on drug prices. (Johnson, 8/29)

Bloomberg: New Drug Price Questions Loom After Gilead's Cancer Purchase
Gilead Sciences Inc.’s acquisition of Kite Pharma Inc. has brought it back to a familiar -- and contentious -- dilemma: How much should a drugmaker charge for a novel drug that has the potential to cure a disease? Back in 2013, Gilead was battered by public outrage when it priced its hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi at $84,000, or $1,000 a pill. The drug, which promised to rid patients of the viral disease in three months, also faced pushback from insurers and government plans that were expected to cover most of the cost. (Chen, 8/29)

Stat: AIDS Activists Urge N.Y. Attorney General To Probe Gilead For Antitrust Violations
Agroup of prominent AIDS activists is urging the New York attorney general to investigate Gilead Sciences (GILD) for potential antitrust violations in connection with deals the drug maker struck with rivals that sought to sell generic versions of a best-selling HIV treatment. The activists are concerned Gilead may have reached agreements with the companies that allow it to improperly forestall competition to its Truvada HIV prevention pill, according to an Aug. 4 letter they wrote to Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. Those deals were reached three years ago to settle patent litigation and generic versions are not expected to appear before 2021. (Silverman, 8/29)

Kaiser Health News: Facebook Live: The Prescription Drug Pricing Pipeline
Who contributes to what you pay at the pharmacy? Why are prescription drugs so expensive in the United States? In this Facebook Live, KHN’s Julie Appleby talks with Stephanie Stapleton and answers readers’ questions about the prescription drug pricing pipeline and the industry stakeholders who have a role in what you pay. (8/29)

The Fiscal Times: Why The US Spends More Per Person On Prescription Drugs Than Other Countries
The U.S. spends more per capita on prescription drugs than any other high-income country — and that spending has grown much faster than in comparable countries over the last two decades, lifting the annual cost per person to between 30 percent and 190 percent higher than in countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. (Rosenberg, 8/29)

Denver Post: EpiPen's Maker Will Pay $5.5 Million To Colorado As Part Of A Settlement
Mylan, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the popular EpiPen device to treat allergic reactions, will pay the state of Colorado $5.5 million as part of a settlement over claims that it shorted money owed to Medicaid. Nationally, Mylan agreed to pay $465 million to the federal government and individual states as part of the settlement. The claims allege that Mylan misclassified EpiPen as a generic drug, even as it marketed EpiPen as a brand-name drug and raised the prices for the device 400 percent between 2010 and 2016. The generic classification allowed Mylan to avoid paying rebates to state Medicaid programs, according to the claims. (Ingold, 8/29)

Morning Consult: Health Insurers Enter Fray In Drug Price Fight
Health insurers are pushing back against a recent report that accuses them of denying some patients coverage for medical products and procedures, alleging it is part of a campaign by the pharmaceutical industry to distract the public from rising drug prices. America’s Health Insurance Plans, the nation’s largest trade group for medical insurers, reacted quickly to a study released last week that stated that as many as 24 percent of insured patients with chronic illnesses have been denied coverage for prescribed treatments. (Reid, 8/24)

Bloomberg: Valeant’s Latest Litigation Threat Could Be Especially Costly
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has been selling assets, paying down debt and riding a recovery of its shares from their lowest point last spring. But one big uncertainty -- its potential legal costs -- just got bigger. Lord Abbett & Co., the mutual fund company, filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Valeant on Wednesday alleging that it bought shares in the drug giant at an artificially high price because of misinformation provided by Valeant. (Farrell and Weinberg, 8/25)

The Associated Press: How To Tell If The Price Is Right On Your Next Prescription
With drug prices rising and insurance coverage shrinking, it pays to ask questions and do a little research before handing over your insurance card at the pharmacy counter. Having coverage offers no guarantee that you're getting the best price for your medicine. Customers of CVS and Walgreens brought that concern to light earlier this month when they sued the drugstore chains over prices paid for generic prescriptions. ... Before you fill your next prescription, consider these steps to help find the best possible price. (Murphy, 8/23)

Stat: Dueling Data: Amgen Fires Back Over Cost Effectiveness For Its Cholesterol Drug
On the defensive about the value of its pricey cholesterol medicine, Amgen (AMGN) released a new study that argues its treatment is cost effective at about $9,700 a year, which is closely in line with the existing price tag — after discounts and rebates are subtracted from the $14,000 list price. This contrasts, however, with the $4,500 price point that a group of academics suggested in their own analysis, which was released earlier this week. In their view, the drug — an injectable medicine known as Repatha — should be marked down by roughly two-thirds off the list price to be seen as a good value. Their analysis was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Silverman, 8/23)

Reuters: AstraZeneca Strikes $400 Million Parkinson's Drug Deal With Takeda
AstraZeneca is to receive up to $400 million from Takeda Pharmaceutical after striking a deal for the Japanese company to co-develop an early-stage medicine for Parkinson's disease. The drug, MEDI1341, is an antibody treatment discovered by the British company that is due to enter Phase I clinical trials later this year. (Hirschler, 8/29)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Group Supporting Drug-Pricing Issue Goofs Up Endorsement Announcement
Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices, also called Yes on Issue 2, said Councilmen Kerry McCormack and Brian Kazy were endorsing the Drug Price Relief Act. But both said they haven't decided whether to support it. (Hancock, 8/24)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Who Is The Controversial Man Behind Ohio's Drug Price Ballot Initiative?
Supporters and opponents of the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act - a ballot issue Ohioans will decide this November -- have waged an aggressive, multimillion-dollar offensive against one another. ... If the ballot initiative is a war in Ohio, the general for the pro-side - known as Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices - is Michael Weinstein, the polarizing and controversial president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, or AHF, which occupies the 21st floor of an office building near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood. (Richardson, 8/24)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland City Council Members Endorse Ohio's Prescription Drug Issue 2: See Who Else Is On Board
The campaign behind Issue 2, a November ballot measure it says would save the state millions of dollars on prescription drugs, announced new supporters, including six members of Cleveland City Council and the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. ... The proposed law would require Ohio to buy medicine for state health care recipients such prisoners, Medicaid recipients or state employees at the same prices obtained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which under federal law gets a 24 percent discount on drug costs. (Hancock, 8/23)

Stat: Michigan Will Be The Next State To Try To Legislate A Fix To High Drug Prices
You can add Michigan to the list of states where lawmakers hope to legislate a fix for high drug prices. A group of House and Senate Democrats plan to introduce a bill to create a Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Board for reviewing price hikes and to empower the state attorney general to investigate any drug maker that takes “grossly excessive” price increases. Companies would be required to submit documents justifying price increases above 10 percent in one year, or 30 percent in five years. And drug makers would be fined $100,000 for failing to justify those increases. (Silverman, 8/23)

Bloomberg: Teva Women's Health Unit Attracts Interest Of Church & Dwight, Cooper 
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s women’s health unit is drawing interest from Church & Dwight Co. and Cooper Cos., people familiar with the matter said, as the troubled Israeli drugmaker sells assets to pare debt. Teva may sell the business as a whole or split the U.S. and European operations after bidders showed interest in separate parts, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Church & Dwight and Cooper are considering bids for the U.S. treatments, the people said. The deadline for final bids is as soon as this week and the entire portfolio may fetch about $2 billion, they said. (Baigorri, 8/22)