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California would become the first state to contract with generic-drug manufacturers to make prescription medicines to sell to residents, under a plan proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that aims to control rising health costs...Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, said it will be part of his new budget proposal. Few details were provided about how the plan would work, what kind of drugs it would produce, how much it would cost to enact or how much it might save the state...Mr. Newsom is betting that California’s purchasing power can help it offer drugs at a lower price than they are offered commercially...READ MORE

Brace yourselves, pharma watchers. With the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference around the corner, some major biopharma deal announcements could hit the headlines, just as Bristol-Myers Squibb unveiled its $74 billion Celgene buyout and Eli Lilly its $8 billion Loxo Oncology takeover last year.,,Those announcements kicked off a year marked by record-breaking biopharma mergers and acquisitions, and signs point to a busy 2020, thanks to a growing deal appetite among major drugmakers, according to one group of analysts...Plus, there's increasing political scrutiny of the drug industry, the looming presidential election and intensifying antitrust scrutiny. That pressure is “likely contributing to a mentality of ‘get it done now or possibly not at all’ among large companies,”...READ MORE

The Food and Drug Administration cleared for market 48 new drugs through its main review office last year. Though that's lower than the 59 approvals seen in 2018, the agency's decisions still provided more treatment options for patients living with cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease and rare muscular disorders...Notably, the agency ended 2019 with a flurry of earlier-than-expected decisions, bolstering the 2018 count with several drugs it was scheduled to finish review on this year...It's unclear how or if the approval stream will change in the new year and decade. The first quarter of 2020, though, may prove a bellwether in the near term. Between January and March, the FDA is slated to make calls on a handful of impactful drugs, including these five.,,READ MORE

1. Aimmune Therapeutics' Palforzia for peanut allergy
2. Esperion Therapeutics' bempedoic acid for high cholesterol
3. Blueprint Medicine's avapritinib for cancer
4. Biohaven Pharmaceutical's rimegepant for migraine
5. Bristol-Myers Squibb's ozanimod for multiple sclerosis

Drugmakers including Pfizer Inc, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Sanofi SA are planning to hike U.S. list prices on more than 200 drugs in the United States...according to drugmakers...Nearly all of the price increases will be below 10%, and around half of them are in the range of 4 to 6%...The median price increase is around 5%...READ MORE

Christina Mattina, welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

Teva...agreed to pay $54 million to settle a years-old whistleblower lawsuit claiming it paid doctors—as speakers or consultants at “sham” events—to prescribe multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and Parkinson’s med Azilect...Former Teva sales reps Charles Arnstein and Hossam Senousy sued the company in 2013, alleging the company set up a program to pay doctors to prescribe the drugs through speakers’ fees. The events weren't educational, though, and only served as a conduit for paying docs to prescribe the drugs, according to the whistleblowers...READ MORE

Christina Mattina, welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

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.

Publix Pharmacy is celebrating a milestone. It recently filled its 100 millionth free prescription as part of its free medication program...“We are proud to provide a service that helps our customers afford their medications,” Publix vice president of pharmacy Dain Rusk, said. “As the cost of health care continues to rise, this program has become even more important to our customers and our communities. Too often, high prescription costs prevent people from taking medication as prescribed. When medications are free or available at a greatly reduced cost, that barrier is lifted, and our customers can get the care they need.”...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.