Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Venture Capitalist Promises That It's Not A 'Fantasy' To Believe Pharma Can Produce Cheaper Miracle Drugs
Stat: A Health Care Veteran Tries To Upend The System And Bring Drug Prices Down
The U.S. health system could get some relief from rising drug prices from an unlikely source: a venture capitalist starting a new company to try to make medicines less expensive. Alexis Borisy, 47, is a fixture in Boston biotech, known for his striking felt fedoras. He co-founded Foundation Medicine and Blueprint Medicines, both of them based in Cambridge, Mass., and focused, in different ways, on using genetics to treat cancer — the kind of approach that has produced remarkable outcomes but also driven up the price of drugs. His next company, called EQRx and being launched Monday, seeks to bring them down. He will serve as both CEO and chairman. (Herper, 1/12)
The Hill: Big Pharma Looks To Stem Losses After Trade Deal Defeat
The powerful pharmaceutical industry is trying to cope with a rare loss in the North American trade deal now moving through the Senate. Drug companies are protesting the elimination of a provision that would have given them 10 years of market exclusivity for an innovative type of drug called biologics. That measure was dropped from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) at the behest of House Democrats, who warned it could have locked in higher drug prices. (Sullivan, 1/14)
Reuters: Eli Lilly To Offer Half-Priced Versions Of Two More Insulin Products
Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday it plans to sell two versions of insulin products at half their current U.S. list prices, eight months after it started selling a half-priced version of its widely-used Humalog injection. Lilly will sell new versions of Humalog Junior KwikPen and Humalog Mix75/25, which contains a mix of fast- and intermediate-acting insulin, at a list price of $265.20 for a pack of five KwikPens. They will be available at that price by mid-April, the company said. (Mishra and Erman, 1/14)
The Associated Press: Prescription Drug Costs Under Review In Maryland
A new board that will investigate how to keep prescription drugs affordable in Maryland met for the first time Monday to discuss hiring staff members and finding an office. The five-member Maryland Prescription Drug Affordability Board will conduct studies on prescription drug costs. A study due later this year will focus on generic drug markets and how drug prices affect insurance premiums. The board also has a mandate to conduct an annual study on drug pricing trends. (Witte, 1/13)
Sacramento Bee: Were Prescription Drugs Biggest Culprit In CA Premium Hike?
The California Department of Managed Care put out its second report aimed at increasing transparency on prescription drug costs, but perhaps the most startling revelation from the document comes in a footnote showing that health plans greatly expanded their reporting the data. Insurers build a margin of profit into their annual premiums, and in 2018, they more than doubled the profits they received, driving it up to $2.75 billion from $1.01 billion the prior year. (Anderson, 1/14)
Boston Globe: Prescription Drug Overload: Critics Fighting To Curb An Epidemic Of Medication Side Effects
Forty-two percent of adults over 65 take five or more prescription drugs, and nearly 20 percent take 10 or more, according to the Lown Institute, a health care think tank in Brookline. The institute warns of a growing epidemic of overmedication that’s sent millions of seniors to hospitals and emergency rooms in the past decade with often serious side effects. (Weisman, 1/13)
The Wall Street Journal: High Drug Prices? Pharma Startup Thinks It Has The Right Medicine
A startup pharmaceuticals company wants to capitalize on the backlash against high drug prices by developing slightly different versions of expensive brand-name drugs and selling them at a significantly lower price than competitors. The new company, EQRx Inc., aims to bring 10 drugs to market over the next decade and sell them for perhaps as little as one-third to one-fifth of rivals’ prices, the company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Alexis Borisy said. (Walker, 1/12)
The Hill: Appeals Court Skeptical Of Trump Rule On TV Drug Ads
The Trump administration urged a federal appeals court Monday to overturn that ruling, arguing it has the authority under the law to run the Medicare and Medicaid programs efficiently. The health care programs for the elderly and the poor paid about $240 billion for prescription drugs in 2016. (Hellmann, 1/13)
Stat: Supreme Court Will Review Arkansas Law Governing PBMs
In a move with the potential to affect health care costs, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a case that will determine the extent to which the states can regulate pharmacy benefit managers, the controversial middlemen in the pharmaceutical supply chain. At issue is an Arkansas law that governs the reimbursements rates that pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, must pay to pharmacies. Specifically, the law requires PBMs to reimburse pharmacies at or above their wholesale costs paid for generic drugs. (Silverman, 1/11)
The Wall Street Journal: Drugmakers Test New Ways To Pay For Six-Figure Treatments
Drugmakers are experimenting with new ways to get paid for their most expensive medicines, as resistance to escalating prices builds and the collection and analysis of patient data improves. Now that six-figure price tags are common, drug companies are finding creative ways to get reimbursed, from installment plans and subscriptions to more complex value-based contracts that tie payment to when a drug helps a patient. (Hopkins, 1/13)
Stat: High Cost Of MS Medicines Forcing Patients To Take 'Drastic Actions'
The high cost of multiple sclerosis treatments has forced 40% of patients to take “drastic actions” and alter their use of the medicines, such as cutting back or skipping dosages altogether. And many report the financial burden is not only hurting their lifestyle, but impairing their ability to save for retirement or college for their children, a new survey found. For instance, 14% reported they switched to a generic, despite being satisfied with their existing treatment; 12% stopped using their medication for a period of time; 9% skipped or delayed filling a prescription; and 8% took less of their medicine than prescribed, according to the survey by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. (Silverman, 1/13)
