Side Effects May Include Overdrawn Bank Accounts: Group Goes After Drug Prices With Spoof Ad

Stat: Campaign Against High Drug Prices Launches With Spoof Ad
The yellow pill is dubbed “PriceGougi$ol,” and the activists who dreamed it up want it to become a new face of the backlash against high prescription drug prices. A spoof ad for the fake drug made its debut Tuesday as part of the launch of a multimillion dollar push to call attention to “out-of-control” price increases. The organizer, the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, a project from the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition on Health Care, plans in the coming months to put out more ads and promote the stories of Americans impacted by high drug prices. (Robbins, 5/2)

ProPublica: With Drug Reps Kept At Bay, Doctors Prescribe More Judiciously
When teaching hospitals put pharmaceutical sales representatives on a shorter leash, their doctors tended to order fewer promoted brand-name drugs and used more generic versions instead, a study published Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, shows. The results were significant compared to doctors who worked at hospitals that did not limit sales reps from freely walking their halls or providing meals or gifts, according to research by Ian Larkin, an assistant professor of strategy at the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, and colleagues. (Ornstein, 5/2)

Stat: Most Americans Want DC To Do Something About Drug Costs
A majority of Americans continue to believe that lowering prescription drug costs should be a top priority for the Trump administration and Congress, and most overwhelmingly favor taking several steps — such as allowing Medicare to negotiate or importing medicines from Canada — as a potential solution. Specifically, 60 percent want the federal government to take action, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll. This is virtually the same percentage of Americans who responded to the last such poll in December. (Silverman, 5/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Revolt Against Sky-High Drug Prices Prompts A Pioneer To Cash Out
Entrepreneur Jeffrey Aronin said a few years ago he hoped to eventually sell Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC, which he controls and runs, for billions of dollars, according to a person who heard the comment. Some employees have said they now expect him to shut down the company. His deflated ambition is a sign of the increasingly hostile reaction to drug companies that specialize in sharply raising the prices of old medications. Mr. Aronin did that over and over again for 15 years, most recently after Marathon won approval in February to sell a drug for muscular dystrophy in the U.S. (Walker, 5/2)

Stat: Tying Price To Value — From Drugs To Hip Surgery — Still Elusive
As the cost of health care rises, academic and industry leaders batted around ideas to make medicine more affordable by having people pay for the benefit they accrue rather than the specific services they receive. Called “value-based care,” the concept is complicated and amorphous — but it touches all areas of health care, from hospital procedures to medical research to pharmaceutical pricing. (Swetltitz, 5/2)

Bloomberg: BioMarin Prices Orphan Drug At $702,000, Promises Big Discounts 
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. won approval from U.S. regulators for a treatment for an ultrarare pediatric brain disorder. The therapy will have an extraordinary price tag. At $27,000 per biweekly infusion, the drug, called Brineura, will cost about $702,000 a year. BioMarin said Thursday that most patients who have the disorder, known as Batten disease, are on federal assistance programs like Medicaid, and that the price after mandatory government discounts will be $486,000. Even with discounts, Brineura would be one of the most expensive drugs in the world. Treatments for rare genetic diseases, such as Horizon Pharma Plc’s Ravicti for urea cycle disorders, carry some of the highest prices in the industry. Ravicti has a list price of $556,000, according to the company. (Chen 4/27)

Stat: Strap On Your Parachutes, Pharma Faces A Mini Patent-Cliff
Drug makers may want to strap on their parachutes — another patent cliff lies ahead. The phrase, of course, refers to the loss of patent protection on big-selling drugs that ravaged the pharmaceutical industry several years ago. As the companies began facing generic competition, many cut jobs and closed plants, refocused research efforts, and scrambled for deals to replenish pipelines. (Silverman, 4/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Mylan Chairman Received Nearly $100 Million Last Year
Mylan disclosed that its chairman received nearly $100 million last year, among the largest pay packages disclosed this year for any public company, even as the drugmaker was buffeted in 2016 by a public furor over hefty price increases on its lifesaving EpiPen. The disclosed pay for Robert J. Coury doesn’t include an additional $66.3 million in retirement benefits and other payments that Mr. Coury received last year in connection with what Mylan called his transition from executive chairman to a nonemployee chairman role. (Maremont and Francis, 5/2)

Bloomberg: A Secret Profit Formula Loved By Drug Middlemen Is At Risk
Critics have said for years that pharmacy benefit managers’ business practices are so opaque that employers and insurers who hire them can’t know whether the powerful middlemen are saving them money or driving up costs. News that insurer Anthem Inc. may drop Express Scripts Holding Co. after accusing it of $3 billion annual overcharges shows that view is gaining traction in corner offices. Express Scripts said this week that Anthem was planning to discontinue its contract after 2019, although Anthem’s chief executive officer said Wednesday no decision was final. (Langreth and Weinberg, 4/26)

Stat: Conflict Policies Adopted By Academic Med Centers Made A 'Modest' Difference
After concerns mounted a decade ago over financial ties between drug makers and doctors, various institutions took steps to limit potentially undue influence over medical research and practice. The federal government created a website where companies are required to report payments. And many academic medical centers and physician practices barred or restricted visits by drug sales reps. But to what extent have these efforts made a difference?For one thing, consumers now have more information about their physicians. (Silverman, 5/2)

The Associated Press: Pfizer Beats 1Q Profit Forecasts, But Sales Slip
Pfizer beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profit thanks to reduced spending on operations and legal costs, plus strong sales of key new drugs and longtime blockbuster pain treatment Lyrica. But revenue at the top U.S. drugmaker dipped 1 percent as competition intensified from rival brands and generic copycats. Pfizer is near the end of a years-long stretch in which generic competition cut into revenue from its one-time blockbuster drugs, including cholesterol, heart and pain drugs. Near-copies of Enbrel, an injected immune disorder drug it sells overseas, cut sales 18 percent to $588 million in the quarter, for example. (Johnson, 5/2)

Bloomberg: Novo Settles U.S. Probe Of Kickbacks, Disguised Salespeople
Novo Nordisk A/S has agreed to settle a U.S. probe of its marketing of diabetes drugs that allegedly included disguising salespeople as medical educators and paying kickbacks to persuade doctors to prescribe its medicines. The allegations were disclosed when a whistle-blower lawsuit was unsealed by a judge. The U.S. Justice Department investigation, which began in 2011, focused on claims of illegal marketing of the Danish insulin supplier’s top-selling Victoza diabetes drug and other products, according to Novo’s 2016 annual report. (Feeley and Cortez, 4/28)

Stat: US Trade Rep's Watch List Gives Consumer Groups One Pleasant Surprise
Is the Trump administration siding with consumer groups over drug makers in the fight over patient access and patent rights? The US trade representative on Friday released its annual 301 Watch List, which identifies and ranks countries based on their willingness to protect intellectual property. The annual list is of great concern to drug makers, which argue that some countries fail to sufficiently protect and enforce patent rights. As a result, they complain that revenues are hurt and innovation is discouraged. (Facher, 4/28)

The Associated Press: Nevada Coalition Seeks Unprecedented Insulin Refund Law
Aiming to rein in soaring prescription drug prices, an unlikely Nevada coalition is trying to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose how they set insulin prices — and issue refunds to diabetics or their insurance companies if annual price hikes surpass inflation. Las Vegas casino owners have banded together with their employees' unions of cooks, servers and other resort workers to support the unprecedented legislation in their effort to control their own medical insurance costs. (Noon, 5/1)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Londonderry Man Tells Washington: The Cost Of Insulin Is Out Of Control
A Londonderry man recently visited Washington, D.C., to advocate for better diabetic health care. Jay Dunigan of Londonderry has had Type 1 diabetes for 45 years and worked in the diabetes medical technology sector for more than 28 years. Three hundred volunteers from 30 states were invited by the American Diabetes Association to talk to congressional representatives on March 28 about the issues that directly affect diabetes patients. (Hogan, 4/26)

Health News Florida: 'Bait And Switch' Bill Passes Senate, Awaits House Approval 
If signed into law, insurers could not change out of pocket prescription costs, create more restrictions, or remove coverage of them during a health plan year. It does not prevent health plans from being able to add brand and generic medications to their formularies or to make coverage changes if the FDA announces drug safety concerns or if there are medications removed from the market. (Miller, 5/1)