Trump Administration Sends Up Mixed Signals On Drug Pricing, PBM Plans

Stat: The Trump Administration Can't Decide Whether To Boost PBMs Or Rein Them In
Some days, President Trump vows to eliminate them. But then, there are days when his top health lieutenants promise to empower them. There are even days when they do both. The mixed and muddled signals from the administration are over the increasingly contentious role of the pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Those discordant signals reflect a lack of clarity from Trump and his lieutenants over how best to address one of their top priorities: how to lower prescription drug prices. (Swetlitz, 8/22)

Reuters: U.S. Health Secretary Says Agency Can Eliminate Drug Rebates
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said it was within his agency’s power to eliminate rebates on prescription drug purchases, a key element of the Trump administration’s plan to lower prescription medicine costs. Such rebates are negotiated in the United States by pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) to lower the cost of medicines for their clients, including large employers and health plans that cover tens of millions of Americans. (Abutaleb, 8/20)

Stat: FDA Convenes Working Group On Importing Drugs From Other Countries 
A controversial Food and Drug Administration working group has begun discussing how to import drugs from other countries as a way of bringing down prices for American patients, a top Trump administration health official said Monday. “That work group has met and is outlining its plan of action,” Dan Best, senior adviser on drug pricing, said on a phone call with reporters. “As more of that information becomes available, we’ll make it available to the market.” (Swetlitz, 8/20)

Stat: China's First Cancer Immunotherapy Will Cost Half Of What It Costs In The U.S.
The blockbuster cancer drug Opdivo will be sold for about $84,000 per year in the Chinese market, before discounts — meaning that China’s first cancer immunotherapy will come at about half the price it costs in the U.S. The price tag for the Bristol-Myers Squibb drug, which is in line with analysts’ expectations, will be an early test of whether the Chinese market can support a coming wave of innovative but pricey medicines. (Robbins, 8/21)

Bloomberg: Drugmakers Extend Summer Rally As Markets Regain Footing
Major pharmaceutical companies are partying like it’s 2001. U.S. drugmakers including Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., and Merck & Co. are seeing their share prices balloon to the highest levels in more than 16 years as investors rotate in after second-quarter results proved stronger than expected. Impressive earnings paired with waning concerns about potential Trump administration actions on drug pricing could be helping to draw generalist investors in a bit of a “catch up trade,” according to Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan. (Lipschultz, 8/20)

Becker's Hospital Review: These 6 Drugmakers Froze Price Hikes In Response To Trump's Criticism
The pharmaceutical industry is facing increased pressure from President Donald Trump, lawmakers and the public to lower drug prices. In July, President Trump slammed pharma giant Pfizer on Twitter, saying the company should be "ashamed" of the decision to increase the list price of more than 100 drugs and treatments. ... Here is a breakdown of six drugmakers who postponed price hikes or lowered drug prices since the July 9 tweet. (Paavola, 8/20)

WRVO Public Media: Drug Pricing Experiment Offers Oklahoma Rebate If Drugs Don't Work 
This summer, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program was approved for a value-based purchasing program -- a first-in-the-nation drug pricing experiment that hopes to incentivize drug companies to stand behind their product. Jackie Fortier reports on health policy for StateImpact Oklahoma, a collaboration of NPR member stations in Oklahoma that focuses on how government policy affects people’s lives. Fortier spoke to us this August on "Take Care," right before the new drug-pricing model began. She said though there are plenty of skeptics, the new program might do some good for the state and provide an example for other states to follow. (8/19)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Firing Pharmacy Middlemen That Cost Taxpayers Millions
The Ohio Department of Medicaid is changing the way it pays for prescription drugs, giving the boot to all pharmacy middlemen because they are using "spread pricing," a practice that has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions. Medicaid officials directed the state's five managed care plans Tuesday to terminate contracts with pharmacy benefit managers using the secretive pricing method and move to a more transparent pass-through pricing model effective Jan. 1. (Sullivan and Candisky, 8/14)

PBS NewsHour: Why A Patient Paid A $285 Copay For A $40 Drug
Insurance copays are higher than the cost of the drug about 25 percent of the time, according to a study published in March by the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. USC researchers analyzed 9.5 million prescriptions filled during the first half of 2013. (Thompson, 8/19)

BioPharma Dive: Aimovig Launch Bolsters Hopes For Blockbuster Sales
The first drug approved for migraine prevention since Allergan's Botox, Aimovig offers a new option for the 10 million Americans that Amgen estimates suffer from the debilitating headache condition. ... Perhaps seeking to avoid a similar fate, Amgen and Novartis priced Aimovig at a lower-than-expected $6,900 per year in an effort to win broad coverage for the drug. So far, it seems that approach is paying off. "The response to Aimovig in the marketplace is beyond our expectations," said Anthony Hooper, Amgen's head of global commercial operations, on a second quarter earnings call last month. (Pagliarulo, 8/20)