Eli Lilly to Pull Advertising on Twitter After Fake Insulin Tweet Fallout
Only days after a tweet from a verified account masquerading as Eli Lilly tanked the pharma giant’s stock by 11%, the company is signaling it will substantially cut its ad spending on the platform. The tweet in question, coming from an account that was verified through Elon Musk’s controversial pay-for-verification program, stated that “insulin is free now”. The tweet took hours for Twitter staff to pull, in part due to massive staff cuts initiated by Musk.
Report Puts Forward Four Steps to Accelerate Drug Access in Canada
A recent report from the Conference Board of Canada posits four steps to speed up access to cancer therapeutics in Canada. First, they recommend changing the current health technology assessment (HTA) practices to provide additional pathways that will allow patients to access drugs while payers, pharma, and regulatory bodies work out reimbursement strategies.
Researchers Investigate Repurposed Drugs with Existing Real-World Data
A review that was published recently explored the use of real-world data (RWD) in repurposing existing drugs for new indications. Drug repurposing allows for more rapid market access, and is increasingly being prioritized by regulatory bodies in Australia and elsewhere. RWD can help identify and develop repurposed drugs.
Pharma Warns Investors About Future Earnings Impact of Drug Pricing Reform
Several pharma companies have told investors of potential earnings drops caused by the looming implementation of drug pricing reform in the US. This includes companies like Merck, Amgen, Eli Lilly, and more, some of which blamed decisions to cut back on research. The drug reform law in the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act would let the government negotiate the prices of a small number of drugs and fine companies for hiking Medicare drug prices faster than inflation.
US Democrats Eye Drug Launch Prices
With a recent legislative win in the books with drug pricing reform in the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats are looking towards high drug launch prices. In recent years, the launch prices of many drugs, especially biologics, have skyrocketed, with the average launch price in 2021 at $232,000. Rep Katie Porter (Dem-CA) has pointed out that now is the time to strike, while drug pricing reform still has momentum.
Global Pricing Innovations Launches GPI Horizon Platform for Value Assessment
Global Pricing Innovations (GPI) has announced the launch of its new GPI Horizon platform. GPI Horizon is an analytics-based tool to expedite value-assessment and price prediction across the entire life cycle to help drive market access and reduce payer risk. The program is part of GPI’s larger offerings, but can be used in a self-service model.
Proving the Value of Real-World Data to Stakeholders
As more and more pharma companies, payer groups, and regulatory bodies accept the growing use of real-world data (RWD) in decision-making, it is becoming ever more important to demonstrate the resource’s value to stakeholders. In a new article by Barbara Arone MS, VP of Real World Solutions at IQVIA, learn about proving the value of RWD and the real-world evidence (RWE) generated from it.
India’s NPPA to Reconsider Retail Price Fixing for Cipla’s Combo Inhaler
India’s National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has been told by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) to consider Cipla’s retail pricing application for a combination inhaler drug. The decision comes after years of legal struggles surrounding similarities between the drug, a combination of Formoterol Fumarate Dihydrate 6mcg and Beclomethasone Dipropionate IP 100 mg, and one of its competitors.
Teva Agrees to Pay New York $523 Million
Teva Pharmaceuticals has agreed to settle yet another case relating to its role in the US opioid crisis, this time with the state of New York. According to the state’s Attorney General Tish James, the pharma giant will pay an additional $313 million on top of the $210 million the state will receive from a nationwide settlement Teva reached this summer.
McKesson Reaches $141 Million Settlement with Shareholders in Generic Price Fixing Lawsuit
McKesson Corp. has indicated it reached a settlement with shareholders to the tune of $141 million in a lawsuit over price fixing claims regarding generic medications. The plaintiffs argued that the company lied when it said that it was raising prices due to supply disruptions, instead doing so for anti-competitive reasons.
Indian Pharma Industry Fares Well Amid Inflation and Pricing Concerns
An ICRA analysis of 16 leading Indian pharma companies finds the industry doing well in spite of concerns regarding inflation and drug pricing. The selected companies reported an average revenue growth of 4.9%, driven in part by market growth in the US and abroad. However, the report also noted a reduction in the European market.
Norstella and Citeline Announce Complete Merger
Norstella, a biotech that provides end-to-end services for therapeutic development has merged with Citeline, a leader in pharma intelligence. The acquisition brings the value of Norstella up to $5 billion, ranking among the largest in the industry. Norstella will use Citeline’s range of services and assets to help improve the company’s drug development support services.
Eli Lilly and US HHS at Odds Over 340B Program in Federal Court
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Eli Lilly butted heads in a recent federal appeals court hearing over the agency’s 340B drug discount program, which requires that drugmakers give discounts on certain drugs to pharmacies that serve underprivileged communities. Lilly has refused to sell discounted drugs to several pharmacies that have contracts with the 340B program. The pharma giant, which has reported record profits in recent years, says that the law doesn’t require them to serve all such pharmacies.
Alnylam Blames New US Drug Pricing Laws for Shelving of Rare Eye Disease Therapeutic
Alnylam is setting aside a clinical trial of its therapeutic Vutrisiran for a rare eye disease due to the looming US drug pricing reforms, according to the company. The RNA-based treatment for Stargardt disease is currently used in another rare disease but would not face Medicare pricing negotiations because the law only targets newly approved drugs. Approval of the treatment for Stargardt would allow the government to negotiate the price of Vutrisiran for that indication.
HIV/AIDS Patient Advocacy Organization Incensed by Gilead’s 340B Descovy Price Hikes
Gilead Sciences’ refusal to provide Medicare 340B discounts for HIV drugs has drawn significant ire from HIV/AIDS patient advocacy organizations. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) said that the pharma giant has spiked the price of its HIV drug Descovy for providers and pharmacies that deliver care to underserved communities. Gilead claims its HIV drugs do not qualify for its Contract Pharmacy Integrity Initiative.
Podcast Q&A: Advancing Patient Care through Real-World Data, Machine Learning, and Systems Biology
This podcast segment from Syapse's September 21, 2022 webinar features the Q&A with Nitin Baliga, Insitute of Systems Biology, and [...]
Pfizer Considering 400% COVID-19 Vaccine Price Increase in US
Since their release to the general public last year, the US government has been purchasing and providing COVID-19 vaccines free of charge to patients. With this program set to end soon as public demand for the vaccine draws down, Pfizer is looking to hike its price up by 400% as it enters the commercial market.
ICER Releases Final Report on Unsupported Price Increases in California
In the US, prescription drugs tend to increase in price faster than inflation and launch for prices far exceeding value to patients. In a newly released final report, ICER investigated unsupported price increases in California using data made available by SB-17, a law ensuring the transparency of drug costs from manufacturers and payers.
The Case for a Public Benefit Biopharma Industry
The for-profit biopharma industry is incentivized to maximize profits, increasing prices and decreasing patient access to biologics. Moreover, they are disincentivized to prioritize products like vaccines and antibiotics that historically have lower profit margins. A new article in STAT News argues that a push towards a public benefit biopharma industry could help address this situation and support innovation.
Drug Price Hikes Out of Control in Pakistan
Threats of shortages are constantly driving up the prices of pharmaceuticals in Pakistan. Unlike the US, where most price hikes target prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs like paracetamol have been affected. Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority has implemented policy that sets maximum retail prices for some drugs based on the price in neighboring countries. This has lowered prices for patients and the healthcare system at large, but not without some downsides.
US HHS Secretary Becerra Says March-In Rights Not “Off the Table”
While pharma and biotech companies are still reeling from the passage of drug pricing reform in the US, their worries are still not over. Secretary Xavier Becerra of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has mentioned that march-in rights are not “off the table.” The federal government has the power to take a drug’s patent and give it to other drugmakers in order to reduce the price for patients and payers, particularly those on the federal and state levels.
BIO CEO on Leave After Drug Pricing Reform and Industry Setbacks
Michelle McMurry-Heath, CEO of BIO is currently on leave following a tumultuous two-year term that was beset by the pandemic, a chaotic biotech market, and the passage of drug pricing reform by the US government. BIO had spent years lobbying alongside other industry groups against such regulations to no avail with the Biden Administration’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act.
New Bipartisan US Bill to Limit CMS from Treating All Amyloid Therapies the Same
A bipartisan group in the US congress is looking to pass a bill to limit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from lumping in all amyloid-targeted drugs with the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. The move comes as two new amyloid-targeted therapies have shown promising results in slowing cognitive decline.
HHS Secretary and CMS Administrator Comment on Biosimilar Payment Provision in Inflation Reduction Act
Last week, two statements were released by Xavier Becerra of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Becerra spoke about the efforts to reduce healthcare costs for Americans, while Brooks-Lasure talked about how the Inflation Reduction Act will target the biosimilars industry.
Report Finds 1,200+ Drug Prices Outstripped Inflation
A new report finds that over 1,200 prescription drugs had price hikes that outpaced inflation this year. Fortunately for patients, pharma companies will have to provide a rebates to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for drugs that increase in price faster than inflation for Part B and Part D recipients.
