Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Poster Child For Gouging: How Valeant Jacked Up Price Of Another Drug More Than 2,700%
Stat: Doctors Have Toxic Reaction To Valeant Pricing For A Lead Poisoning Drug
A drug used to treat lead poisoning is causing a toxic reaction among hospitals and poison control centers after Valeant Pharmaceuticals jacked up the price more than 2,700 percent in a single year. At issue is a decades-old, intravenous treatment for severe and life-threatening cases of lead poisoning, which occur infrequently, but generally require supplies to be on hand. Known as Calcium EDTA, Valeant acquired the drug in 2013 as part of a $2.6 billion deal to buy another company called Medicis. (Silverman, 10/11)
Stat: What Outrage? Ariad Raises Price Of Its Leukemia Drug Four Times So Far This Year
At a time when drug makers are under intense scrutiny for their pricing, Ariad Pharmaceuticals does not appear to have any concerns about continually raising the price of an already expensive medicine. Since the beginning of the year, the company raised the price of its Iclusig chronic myeloid leukemia treatment four times, which has amounted to a cumulative increase of 27 percent. As a result, the drug now has a list price of $16,560 a month, or almost $199,000 a year, before any rebates or discounts. And Ariad had also raised the price twice last year. (Silverman, 10/7)
The Hill: House Dem To Introduce Sweeping Drug Pricing Bill
Rep. Rose DeLauro (D-Conn.) is introducing a new measure to fight back against rising drug prices, an issue that has faced a growing uproar. The bill from DeLauro would create a new intergovernmental Price Review Board, which would have the power to impose penalties on drug companies that it determines “price gouge” consumers. (Sullivan, 10/11)
FiercePharma: How Drug Coupons 'Undermine' Payers' Efforts To Limit Healthcare Costs
Consumer drug vouchers for pricey pharmaceuticals--like Mylan’s EpiPen--may lead to market failures that dissolve the incentive for powerful pharmaceutical firms to reduce prescription drug prices, hurting payers' cost-control efforts. Medicare Part D spending on EpiPens grew more than 1,150 percent over a seven-year period from 2007 to 2014 while the number of beneficiaries receiving the treatment increased a disproportionate 164 percent. The ensuing public frustration resulted in CEO Heather Bresch to testifying at a Senate hearing to defend the 400 to 500 percent price hikes. (Ferowich, 10/11)
Bloomberg: Bay State Biotech Report: Paying Full Price For Drugs
Bloomberg biotech reporter Doni Bloomfield spoke with health reporter Robert Langreth about his story on the way U.S. patients are often forced to pay full price on expensive, life-saving drugs like insulin -- even when their insurers are getting a hefty discount. (10/6)
Forbes: Another Drug Company That Raises Prices Like Crazy
Starting in April, a little-known generic drug company in Philadelphia suddenly raised the price of fluphenazine, a medication used to treat symptoms of certain types of schizophrenia, by 1,650% over a three-month period. The evidence: Prescription tracking firm IMS Health discloses the number of times a medicine is prescribed and the medicine’s gross sales. IMS tracked 32,072 prescriptions of fluphenazine in in the first three months of 2016, generating $358,000 and yielding a net price of $11.17. Between April and June, there were 37,320 prescriptions at a net price of $195.53, generating $7.3 million in sales over the three-month period. (Vardi, 10/6)
FiercePharma: AbbVie Re-Ramps Humira TV Spending To Run Away With September's No. 1 Spot
As the FDA worked up to its approval of the first Humira biosimilar last month, AbbVie put the pedal to the floor on Humira TV ad spending. AbbVie spent $32.3 million in the month of September, marketing Humira across three indications, according to data from real-time TV ad tracker iSpot.tv. That’s $11 million more than the next most-promoted product on TV for the month, Pfizer’s Lyrica, on which the pharma giant doled out $21.4 million. (Bulik, 10/10)
The Associated Press: Big Pharma Spending Big Dollars To Defeat California Measure
The national furor over rising drug prices is moving to the ballot box in California, where voters will decide how the state negotiates for prescription medications. The stakes are high: How trendsetting California votes could spill over to other states. (Chang, 10/8)
Press Enterprise: Campaign 2016: How Drug-Price Measure Stacks Up In Polling
A closely watched California prescription drug-pricing initiative got off to an early lead in polls, but a third of those surveyed were undecided, setting the stage for a battle to the finish. The California Drug Price Relief Act would require the state to pay no more for prescription drugs than the Department of Veterans Affairs pays for the same medication. The federal agency negotiates drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, paying on average one-quarter less for drugs than other government agencies. (Seipel, 10/7)
The Mercury News: Ad Watch: Will Proposition 61 Hurt Veterans
This is one in a series of fact-checks of ads running this campaign season. ... [The ad] targets Proposition 61, which would require the state to pay no more for prescription drugs than is paid for the same medication by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The federal agency negotiates drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, paying on average one-quarter less for drugs than other government agencies do. (Seipel, 10/7)
LA Daily News: Mothers, Consumer Advocates Promote Proposition 61 To Stop Drug Price Gouging
Consumer advocates and concerned parents gathered Monday in Santa Monica to condemn the drug industry’s well-heeled campaign against Proposition 61, a measure designed to stop drug price gouging. The press conference was held in the wake of Friday’s announcement that Mylan will pay a $465 million penalty for overcharging Medicaid for its EpiPen injectable allergy treatment. The company raised the price for a pack of two EpiPens from about $100 in 2007 to more than $600 — a 500 percent increase. (Smith, 10/10)
