Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump's Plan For U.S. Drug Production Hinges On CEO Who's Known For Jacking Up Opioid Treatment Amid Crisis
Stat: CEO Tapped By Trump To Make Generics During Pandemic Has Dicey Record
As the chief executive of Phlow, the new company awarded $354 million by the federal government this week to make generics that are in short supply during the pandemic, Eric Edwards maintains his business is a public benefit corporation. Besides generating a profit, Phlow is supposed to serve a greater good. But in his last role in the pharmaceutical industry, Edwards fell short of benefiting the public, at least according to a U.S. Senate subcommittee report released in 2018. (Silverman, 5/19)
Politico: Dubious History For Leader Of New Made-In-America Drug Venture
The ambitious effort, designed to shore up the national stockpile, brings together some well-known players in the health care world. It was hailed by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a sharp critic of China and a champion of bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. More than 70 percent of the world’s drug ingredients are made overseas — many in India and China. “You've got patriotic scientists and engineers producing essential medicines at very low margins in defense of the American people,” Navarro said of Phlow. But the new company has no track record in drug manufacturing, and it’s not clear when its assembly lines will begin churning out products. (Lippman, Owermohle, Brennan and Cancryn, 5/19)
Modern Healthcare: More Critical Drug Ingredients To Be Produced In U.S. Under HHS Program
The Trump administration plans to ease or eliminate shortages of critical medicines for COVID-19 patients by increasing U.S. production of their active ingredients and the chemical compounds needed to make them, HHS said on Tuesday. Phlow Corp. will lead the project, which includes building a new Virginia facility. The effort will use advanced manufacturing processes, including continuous manufacturing, to make drug ingredients. (Brady, 5/19)
NBC News: Trump Admin Taps Startup To Build Nation's First Stockpile Of Key Drug Ingredients
The goal is twofold: to enable the U.S. to manufacture essential drugs at risk of shortage and to create a reserve of active pharmaceutical ingredients to reduce the dependence on foreign suppliers. Phlow's CEO, Dr. Eric Edwards, told NBC News that the company had been in discussions with the administration back in November but that the project was fast-tracked once COVID-19 hit. "We said: 'We have a short-term and long-term solution. We know that there are certain key essential generic medicines that are going to go into shortage if this thing starts spreading,'" Edwards said. "There were drugs that were already on the FDA drug shortage list long before COVID-19 and we already saw what was happening with PPE, and we knew this was going to be as bad or even worse." (Martinez and Breslauer, 5/19)
