Pharma’s Go-To Defense Of High ‘Research And Development’ Costs Undercut By New Study

Stat: A New Study Sparks A War Of Words Over Pharma's Commitment To Research
A coalition of the drug industry’s fiercest foes is accusing the world’s top drug makers of hiding behind research and development “as an excuse for price-gouging American patients.” And they’re pointing to a new study that finds drug makers spent about 22% of their revenues on research and development in 2017 to prove their point. The new study, first shared with STAT, was commissioned by the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, a coalition that includes pharmacy middlemen, hospitals, and insurers and that advocates for drug pricing reforms. It was based largely on analysis of 2017 Security and Exchange Commission filings for the 10 largest U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies that generate more than half their revenue from prescription drugs. (Florko, 5/14)

The Atlantic: Everything Trump Has And Hasn't Done About Drug Prices
Donald Trump’s promise of sweeping health-care reform has not come to pass. While the president campaigned heavily on assurances to “repeal and replace Obamacare” on “day one” with an unspecified plan for every American to have affordable health care, his claims have now been diluted to a focus on “drug prices.” One of his first comments on the release of the Mueller report was that it was a distraction from the need to “get back to infrastructure, get back to cutting taxes, get back to lowering prescription drug prices.” (Hamblin, 5/10)

The Associated Press Fact Check: Trump Cites Drug-Price Drop That Isn't
President Donald Trump is misstating the facts when it comes to prescription drug prices. Speaking Monday at a White House dinner, he cited a remarkable drop in prescription drug prices. But a government index that had registered some declines is now showing an increase again. Some experts say more increases are likely. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Yen, 5/14)

Politico Pro: Medicare Plans Fret Over Looming Drug Policy Changes
Insurers are struggling over how to handle major drug policy changes the Trump administration has proposed as the filing deadline for 2020 Medicare Advantage bids approaches. The financial stakes are huge: Medicare spends more than $100 billion per year on prescription drugs. (Demko, 5/10)

CNBC: Teva Stock Drops After Conspiracy Allegations On Hiking Drug Prices
U.S. traded shares of Teva Pharmaceutical plunged more than 16% on Monday after 44 states sued the company, alleging it orchestrated a sweeping scheme with 19 other drugmakers to inflate prices. Shares of drugmakers Mylan, which was also named in the lawsuit, were trading 10% lower in afternoon trading. The states, led Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, claim 20 drug companies, including Teva USA, “systematically” divided up the market for generic drugs to avoid competing with one another, according to a 500-page lawsuit filed late Friday in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut. (Lovelace, 5/13)

WBUR: $2 Million Drug? Treatment For Rare Genetic Disease Is Expected To Break Price Record
Now, a new treatment called Zolgensma (pronounced zohl-JEN-smah), which replaces the gene that's defective in spinal muscular atrophy, is expected to break that price record this month. The FDA is expected to approve Zolgensma sometime in May, and the biopharma company Novartis is then expected to announce the price.Novartis executives have made clear it will be in the seven figures. (Goldberg, 5/10)

Vox: The House’s Big Bill To Lower Drug Prices And Shore Up Obamacare, Explained
The biggest health care bill of the year is coming to the House floor this week. House Democrats have packaged together a bunch of proposals to lower prescription drug costs and to reverse the Trump administration’s maneuvers to undermine the Affordable Care Act, and they are bringing them to the floor for a vote this week as one bill. (Scott, 5/13)

CQ: House Health Care Bill Puts Generic Drug Industry In Bind
This was supposed to be a good week for the makers of low-cost generic drugs, as a bill that is one of their top priorities gets a House floor vote. Instead, the industry finds itself clouded by allegations of price fixing and its signature bill is being packaged with two measures they oppose. The bill (HR 987) that the House will take up Thursday combines three drug pricing measures with bills to strengthen the individual health insurance market. (Siddons, 5/15)

Pioneer Press: MN Diabetics Make Plea For Emergency Insulin Supply Bill
A group of Minnesota diabetics made an eleventh-hour plea on Monday for lawmakers to address the rising costs of insulin. During a news conference at the state Capitol, the women urged lawmakers to unite behind a proposal that would give diabetics an emergency supply of insulin if they cannot afford it. The “Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act” provision is wrapped into the House and Senate health and human services bills, but the versions are slightly different. Those who have high-deductible insurance plans could get an emergency refill under the House bill, but not the Senate version. And the House bill would provide an emergency supply of 90 days, as opposed to the Senate proposal of 30 days. (Faircloth, 5/13)

The Star Tribune: High Cost Of Meds Is Driving Minnesotans Across The Border
Six Minnesota diabetes activists, who have dubbed themselves the “Caravan to Canada,” approached the U.S. border crossing last Sunday with a mixture of apprehension and defiance. Their three vehicles were carrying insulin, carefully packed in coolers, that they had bought the day before at a Canadian pharmacy just three blocks away. Together, they had spent $1,265 for insulin supplies that in the United States would cost an estimated $12,400 — a savings of $11,000. (Howatt, 5/12)

Stat: New Ventures Strike Deals With Drug Makers To Combat Shortages
Underscoring concerns about ongoing drug shortages, two different ventures representing hundreds of hospitals across the U.S. are announcing separate deals on Wednesday in which manufacturers have agreed to provide medicines that are in short supply. In the first deal, CivicaRx, which is a generic drug company formed by several large hospital systems and three philanthropies, has reached an agreement for Xellia Pharmaceuticals to manufacture antibiotics, including vancomycin and daptomycin. (Silverman, 5/15)

Public News Service: OR Lawmakers Tackle Rising Prescription Drug Prices 
Oregon lawmakers are looking at ways to address the spiking costs of prescription drugs. Two bills in the Legislature could bring down prices, which would be a relief to older Oregonians. According to a U.S. Senate report from last year, the prices for some commonly prescribed, name-brand drugs are increasing at 10 times the rate of inflation. Geneva Craig, a registered nurse at Asante Health Systems in Medford and an AARP Oregon executive council member, said she wants the state to act soon because of the effects she's seen from unaffordable drugs. (5/15)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Faces Pressure On Bills About Drug Prices And Renewable Energy
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is facing pressure to sign bills that would create a state board to monitor drug prices and to increase the state’s requirements for using renewable energy. ... Health advocacy groups have been pressing Hogan to approve a bill that would create a state Prescription Drug Affordability Board. They were buoyed by comments Hogan made at a political event in New Hampshire last month when he was asked about high drug prices. (Wood, 5/14)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: J&J’s New Esketamine Drug For Depression, Spravato, Not Worth The Money Or The Risk, Watchdog Says
According to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), Spravato may be overpriced for the benefits it delivers. Each treatment costs $590 to $885.And that price doesn’t cover the doctor’s time. (Wood, 5/13)

Stat: AbbVie Settles Humira Patent Litigation, Keeping U.S. 'Monopoly Prices'
Anyone holding out hope that a lower-cost version of the Humira rheumatoid arthritis treatment might soon become available in the U.S. can forget about it. That’s because AbbVie (ABBV) has settled patent litigation with Boehringer Ingelheim, which will be allowed to sell a biosimilar version of the medicine as part of the deal — but not until July 2023. Boehringer had been the sole holdout among several large drug makers that previously reached such agreements, which also preclude them from marketing versions of Humira for another four years. (Silverman, 5/14)