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Twenty of the biggest generic prescription drug makers are accused of committing a multi-billion dollar fraud on U.S. consumers. The states, including Nevada, and Puerto Rico filed a complaint...alleging the companies coordinated to inflate prices and reduce competition on more than 100 generic prescription drugs...The drug companies deny engaging in any illegal collusion saying prices go up with drug shortages and market forces....the Association for Accessible Medicines...says it and its member companies are "committed to supporting policies that promote competition."...“Generic drugs are intended to create competition in the marketplace and make treatment more affordable and accessible for patients with acute and chronic conditions,” said Attorney General Aaron Ford. “In the United States, 9 out of 10 filled prescriptions are for generic drugs patients rely on for care, making these alleged anti-competitive practices even more troublesome. Many Nevadans, especially our seniors, struggle with the skyrocketing cost of prescriptions, and my office will aggressively pursue drug companies who take advantage of patients’ need for health care. This unified and targeted action illustrates my Bureau of Consumer Protection’s continued dedication to holding these companies and individuals accountable for the consequences their actions have had on the American people and our health care system.”...READ MORE

Pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences has agreed to donate drugs that reduce the risk of HIV transmission for up to 200,000 people a year...The agreement between Gilead and the Trump administration will last until at least Dec. 31, 2025, and possibly through the end of 2030, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement...Gilead will donate its PrEP medication Truvada, which is used to reduce the risk of HIV infection and usually sells for $1,600 to $2,000 a month in the United States...The deal will “help us achieve our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America!,” President Donald Trump said in a tweet...READ MORE

Novartis AG is offering price discounts in negotiations with U.S. health insurers on its gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, a treatment that could cost more than a million dollars, but the gesture comes with strings attached...The Swiss drugmaker wants insurers to commit to coverage for patients identified with the rare and often deadly disease...Novartis also seeks their support for widespread screening to identify newborns with SMA, and to ensure quick authorization for the gene therapy, with the aim of starting treatment within two weeks of diagnosis...The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is due to decide this month on approval for Novartis’ Zolgensma. Novartis, which has made a huge bet on gene therapy for future growth, says the one-time treatment could be a cure for SMA and is pushing for a price in the range of $1.5 million to $5 million. That would make Zolgensma the most expensive new therapy to date...READ MORE

China has pledged to stem a flood of the synthetic opioid fentanyl onto America’s streets...security experts are skeptical about whether Beijing is willing, or even able, to follow through... Beijing appears to have offered its help so that it could get the best deal possible from Washington in trade negotiations...In April, China pledged...it would expand the list of narcotics subject to state control to the more than 1,400 known fentanyl analogues...as well as any new ones developed in the future...The regulatory change is supposed to shut down the operations of illicit producers and traffickers who advertise and sell fentanyl products on video websites including Google’s YouTube and Vimeo, and on the Dark Web...They deliver the drugs to the U.S. market mainly in the mail, through express delivery services or trans-shipping them through Mexico and Canada...READ MORE

Pharma is the fourth-largest spender on TV ads in the U.S., with $6.6 billion spent over the past year. That’s according to MediaRadar’s annual study of TV ad spending, which includes OTC drug ads in its total that push it higher than other tallies...While likely no surprise to most TV viewers, only retail ($8.7 billion), financial and real estate ($7.9 billion) and tech ($7.4 billion) serve up more TV ads than pharma. The industry edged out automakers ($6 billion), a traditional TV ad stronghold that’s been dropping media spend as car sales continue to decline...The top-spending pharma companies...Pfizer, AbbVie and GlaxoSmithKline. Pfizer spent most on brands Chantix and Eucrisa, while AbbVie spent on Humira, Orilissa and Mavyret. GSK spent more of its TV dollars on prescription product Breo Ellipta, but also on consumer brands Sensodyne and Flonase....READ MORE

Attorneys general from more than 40 states are alleging the nation's largest generic drug manufacturers conspired to artificially inflate and manipulate prices for more than 100 different generic drugs...filed in federal court in Connecticut, also names 15 individual senior executives responsible for sales, marketing and pricing...Connecticut Atty. Gen. William Tong...said investigators obtained evidence implicating 20 firms..."We have hard evidence that shows the generic drug industry perpetrated a multibillion-dollar fraud on the American people," Tong said. "We have emails, text messages, telephone records and former company insiders that we believe will prove a multiyear conspiracy to fix prices and divide market share for huge numbers of generic drugs."...READ MORE

Samantha DiGrande, Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

Five U.S. states...filed lawsuits accusing Purdue Pharma LP of illegally marketing and selling opioids, escalating the wave of litigation over a nationwide abuse epidemic...Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, West Virginia and Wisconsin joined 39 states to file lawsuits targeting Purdue Pharma and its leaders, including former president Richard Sackler and his family...Officials accused Purdue Pharma of repeatedly making false and deceptive claims that opioids...were safe for a wide range of patients seeking to reduce pain...READ MORE

New hospitals or medical centers that offer or advertise emergency services in Clark County will need to accept Medicare and Medicaid, starting this summer...Hospitals that obtain a business license after June 1 will be subject to the new rule. They must also be certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and be in compliance with federal law that requires emergency departments to treat patients without regard for insurance or ability to pay...The new stipulations...come amid concerns over the emergence of freestanding ERs, or microhospitals, that are not part of existing hospital networks. Those medical facilities are licensed through the state, but lack accreditation, do not accept Medicare and Medicaid and are not subject to the same reporting requirements and other standards...READ MORE

Nicole Grassano, PTNN, Pharmacy Week in Review, this weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.