Trump Expected To Issue Executive Order Aimed At High Drug Prices
President Donald Trump will meet Friday with health and budget officials to discuss the proposals, according to news reports. The White House may issue one order soon and then another, longer one down the road.
Bloomberg:
Trump Administration Prepares A Drug Pricing Executive Order, Sources Say
President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing an executive order aimed at lowering U.S. drug costs, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could come within weeks on a campaign issue that has been largely left out of Republican legislative efforts in Congress. Top health and budget officials in the administration will meet Friday to discuss the issue, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the session is private. Trump sought recommendations from the nation’s health agencies on reducing medication costs, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told senators last week. (Edney and Sink, 6/15)
The Hill:
Trump Administration Preparing Executive Order On Drug Pricing
The Trump administration is preparing an executive order aimed at lowering drug prices, according to sources familiar with the process. President Trump is set to meet on Friday with key officials including Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney to discuss the order, which is expected to be issued in the coming weeks, possibly before the July 4 congressional recess, the sources said. (Weixel, 6/15)
Politico Pro:
Trump Order On Drug Prices May Not Match Criticisms Of Pharma
Trump administration officials will huddle Friday as part of a push to issue an executive order addressing rising drug prices, but few are expecting its punch to match the president’s often blistering rhetoric about the pharmaceutical industry. President Donald Trump made drug costs a prominent issue during his campaign and beefed up his criticisms after the election, saying in January that the industry was “getting away with murder." (Karlin-Smith, 6/16)
And on Capitol Hill —
Stat:
Drug Pricing Moves Toward Center Stage On Capitol Hill, This Time In House
A key House committee is preparing for a hearing on drug pricing, as Republicans show an increasing willingness to examine an issue frustrating their constituents. Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas, who helms the health subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, told STAT Thursday his subcommittee will hold a hearing on the drug pricing issues, as well as the related “supply chain.” Neither he nor the full panel chairman, Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, suggested the hearing had yet been scheduled. (Mershon, 6/15)
In other news on the pharmaceutical industry —
Stat:
Cancer Patient Sues Celgene For Thwarting Generic Versions Of Pricey Meds
In what may be a first, a patient has filed a lawsuit accusing a drug maker of hiding behind a mandated safety program to thwart generic competition. The company, in this case, is Celgene. The lawsuit, which was filed by a cancer patient and consumer advocate named David Mitchell, accused the biotech of exploiting a Food and Drug Administration program that is designed to boost safety. Typically such a program, known as a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, requires drug makers to develop a plan to educate physicians and monitor distribution. (Silverman, 6/15)
The Associated Press:
Nevada Forces Drugmakers To Reveal Insulin Pricing, Profits
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed into law Thursday the nation’s strictest requirements for pharmaceutical companies to reveal how they set certain prescription drug prices. The bipartisan legislation focuses on insulin — one of many life-sustaining prescription treatments sold in the U.S. at prices that have skyrocketed over the last decade. The law requires drugmakers to annually disclose the list prices they set, profits they make and discounts they give market middlemen on insulin. (Noon, 6/16)
The Associated Press:
Suit Over Life-Ending Drugs For Terminally Ill Gets Hearing
A judge on Friday is expected to weigh whether a challenge can proceed to California's law letting terminally ill patients seek prescriptions for life-ending drugs. Riverside County Judge Daniel A. Ottolia is expected to hear arguments over whether a lawsuit by doctors challenging the state's 2016 law permitting medically-assisted death can move forward. (6/16)