Category:

Eli Lilly rolled out an $850 million investment plan for the U.S. two years ago, with a chunk of that earmarked for its hometown. But one of those Indianapolis building projects is getting some pushback now, thanks to a local tax break...Despite objections from some local lawmakers, the Indianapolis City-County Council approved a $7 million abatement for Eli Lilly's $91 million expansion project...It was at least the second local tax break Lilly has won in the last few years...Council has approved the statement of benefits from @EliLillyCo, which has applied for tax abatement for real and personal property located in an economic revitalization area...Several Democrats and Republicans voted against the deal...Zach Adamson, a Democrat on the council, said it’s the “second or third” abatement “where the city is not seeing any direct benefit,”...READ MORE

Tasmania could become the first state in Australia to introduce pill testing, with the push gaining support from a maverick Liberal MP and the Dark Mofo festival, which may go it alone to offer a testing service...Festival organisers are meeting with Pill Testing Australia, which conducted the country's first pill testing trial in the ACT last year...Six people have died from suspected drug overdoses at music festivals across Australia this year, prompting renewed calls for testing to be rolled out nationwide...Australia's first pill testing trial was held at Canberra's Groovin the Moo festival last year after being approved by the ACT Government. A second trial will be held at the event this year...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.

Two bills introduced in a Senate health committee...in the Legislature would protect health care benefits in Nevada...Senate Bill 235 would extend pre-existing condition protections created by the federal Affordable Care Act to state law...If SB235 is approved, those with chronic conditions would continue to be protected from discrimination by insurers...A second bill, SB192, introduced in the committee...would require employers to offer comprehensive health coverage that covers all of the ACA’s 10 essential health benefits, including prescription and maternity coverage, if they pay employees at the lower end of a two-tiered minimum wage system...READ MORE

The Nevada Dispensary Association is responding to a recent state audit that was critical of the seed-to-sale tracking system the marijuana industry uses, noting that auditors did not find cannabis was diverted to or from the black market and suggesting that confusion over new software led to reporting errors...State auditors found frequent discrepancies between the amount of sales that are logged into the seed-to-sale tracking software METRC, and those reported on state tax returns. The association, which represents numerous marijuana businesses, did not comment...but provided a statement to The Nevada Independent about the findings this week...The audit suggested that with data incongruencies between the tax returns and the software, the state could have been losing out on $500,000 in tax revenue in a six-month period...READ MORE

Drug manufacturers earned an average of $1.58 in profit for every $1 they spent on the production and administration of diabetes drugs in 2017, according to a report released by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services...But the diabetes drug report...found wide variations in the profitability of drugs used to treat diabetes based on data provided by manufacturers to the state. Although some drug companies reported losses, 69 percent reported of manufacturer reports indicated profits greater than the combined cost of production and administrative expenditures, including some with profits more than 20 times combined costs...The long-awaited report comes nearly two years after lawmakers passed a bill requiring manufacturers of diabetes drugs and PBMs to submit annual reports to the state detailing the costs associated with those drugs and explaining any price increases. The first report based on that information was initially slated to be released in September...READ MORE

Norman Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, will become acting administrator of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...after current FDA chief Scott Gottlieb steps down in early April...The highly regarded Gottlieb reportedly recommended Sharpless as his replacement. He tweeted today: “I’m delighted by the announcement from @SecAzar that @NCIDirector will serve as acting commissioner of #FDA. Ned is a friend to FDA, a great public health champion, a dedicated physician, and will be warmly welcomed into his new role. FDA will benefit greatly from his leadership.”...READ MORE

Democratic Assemblywoman Ellen Spiegel presented two bills...that would allow patients to apply cash payments on drugs and the costs of out-of-network emergency bills to their insurance plan deductibles or annual out-of-pocket maximums...The two bills aim to reduce the financial burden of meeting high deductibles and annual out-of-pocket maximums, which have become increasingly common in recent years, by allowing patients to contribute payments made outside the scope of his or her insurance plan to them. But health insurers, at a hearing on the bills during a meeting of the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee...expressed concerns that the requirements as written could be technically difficult to accomplish and overly burdensome...READ MORE

Jaime Rosenberg, welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

Scott Gottlieb has submitted his resignation as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, after nearly two years at the helm of the agency. Gottlieb plans to leave next month...The unexpected exit has created a number of uncertainties for the pharmaceutical industry. More clarity should come in the lead up to the leadership change. In the meantime, here are five key takeaways from Gottlieb's departure and time at the FDA...READ MORE

1. Who will be Gottlieb's successor?
2. Why is he leaving the FDA?
3. What work does Gottlieb leave unfinished?
4. How will the industry react to Gottlieb's departure?
5. What will Gottlieb's legacy be?