Shadowy Advocacy Group Goes Against The Grain, Vocally Defends Sky-High Drug Prices

Stat: This New Advocacy Group Is An Unapologetic Defender Of High Drug Prices 
It’s less than a week old, but a shadowy new pharma advocacy group is already launching diatribes against advocates for lower drug prices, blasting pharmacy middlemen and defending even sky-high list prices for prescription drugs. The new group, the Alliance to Protect Medical Innovation, says its goal is to “help educate policymakers and the public about medical breakthroughs developed by the biopharmaceutical industry.” An “About Us” section on its website describes it as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. (Florko, 10/4)

Stat: What The Last Trade Debate Over Drug Prices Can Tell Us About The New One 
The drug pricing advocates who once trounced President Obama for his proposal to shield expensive biologic drugs from competition are now girding for a fight with President Trump over his new trade pact. ...Trump announced earlier this week that his newly renegotiated trade agreement with Mexico and Canada — now dubbed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — will require all three countries provide 10 years of exclusivity for brand name biologic drugs, which are made from living cells and used to treat complex conditions like cancer. That means competitors that copy these drugs, often known as biosimilars, would be legally barred from entering the market for that period of time. (Florko, 10/3)

And in other pharmaceutical news —

Bloomberg: Merck Board To Shrink As Member Under Fire Over Conflicts Quits 
Merck & Co. said its board of directors will shrink to 12 members after the resignation of Memorial Sloan Kettering Chief Executive Officer Craig Thompson, who is stepping down following criticism of ties between the hospital’s leaders and health-care companies. Thompson said he would leave the board of the Kenilworth, New Jersey-based drugmaker, the New York Times and ProPublica reported on Tuesday, after a series of news articles raised questions about relationships between the New York-based cancer center and private industry. Thompson has served as Sloan Kettering’s CEO since 2010. He joined Merck’s board in 2009 and served on the research committee. (Hopkins, 10/3)

Stat: Sarepta's Duchenne Gene Therapy Delivers Early Muscle Function Improvements
In a clinical trial earlier this year, an experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, licensed to Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT), produced large increases in a crucial muscle protein normally missing in patients diagnosed with the disease. Those results, disclosed in June, were better than expected but still left an important question unanswered: Would making more of this protein lead to meaningful improvements in muscle strength, movement, and function for Duchenne patients? (Feuerstein, 10/3)

Stat: New Data Shows Genentech's Potential Spinraza Competitor Inching Forward 
A new experimental drug for spinal muscular atrophy from Roche subsidiary Genentech is showing promise, according to new data published Wednesday. The new data shows that the drug, risdiplam, could help children with the debilitating illness sit up and move more easily. It’s an incremental new data set, but one that hints that the drug, if approved, could ultimately compete with Biogen’s pricey drug for the same condition, Spinraza. And the CEO of PTC Therapeutics, from which Genentech licensed the drug, is already hinting that the drug’s backers could file a new drug application with the FDA by the end of 2019. (Sheridan, 10/3)

The Associated Press: CVS Pledges Aetna Will Remain In Hartford For Least 10 Years
Connecticut officials have received official assurances that CVS Health Corp. will keep Aetna Inc. in Hartford for at least the next decade. The pledge is included in a commitment letter CVS delivered Wednesday to the Connecticut Insurance Department. (10/3)