Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Purchase Of PillPack, Amazon Will Have Access To Shoppers' Personal Health Data
The Wall Street Journal: Amazon’s PillPack Deal Gives It Access To Sensitive Health Data
Amazon.com Inc. knows more about consumers’ online-shopping habits than any other retailer. Now it is about to get its hands on the most intimate of personal data: people’s health conditions. Last week’s acquisition of online pharmacy startup PillPack will give Amazon insight into people’s prescriptions, putting the tech company into the highly regulated realm of health information with more restrictions than it is accustomed to on data-mining. (Stevens and Terlep, 7/1)
Bloomberg: Five Questions About Amazon’s Play For The $300 Billion Pharmacy Market
Amazon.com Inc. is buying its way into the pharmacy business. Now the question is, how big can it get? PillPack, the startup pharmacy that Amazon is buying for about $1 billion, for now focuses on a narrow segment of patients who are on many different medications. It packages pills in individual packets that help people remember when to take their drugs every day, a common challenge for people taking, for example, drugs for diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure. (Langreth, Tracer and Hopkins, 6/29)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Stat: Pharma Drops Its Lawsuit Against Nevada Over Drug Pricing Transparency Law
After months of suspense, two pharmaceutical industry trade groups have agreed to drop a lawsuit against the state of Nevada over a new law that requires drug makers to report a wide array of pricing information about their diabetes medicines. The move comes just weeks after state officials modified a regulation to allow companies to mark certain pricing data as confidential when they begin complying with the new transparency law, according to court documents. (Silverman 6/29)
Stat: FDA Scolds Pfizer For A Video That Failed To Mention Risks Of A Vaginal Ring
After months of silence about drug company promotional practices, the Food and Drug Administration scolded Pfizer (PFE) over a consumer video that created a “misleading impression” of the Estring vaginal ring because there was no risk information. The agency objected to a staged interview between a physician and a patient — both of whom were paid and trained Pfizer spokespeople — discussing the ring, which is used to treat moderate to severe symptoms of vulvar and vaginal atrophy due to menopause. Not only did the video fail to include risk information, but the patient claimed she did not suffer any side effects while experiencing “instant relief.” (Silverman, 6/29)
