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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.

Laura Joszt, Managing Editor at The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

...Reckitt Benckiser said it will pay up to $1.4 billion to settle all federal investigations related to the marketing of the opioid-dependence product Suboxone film by former subsidiary Indivior. The company denies all wrongdoing but said settling will avoid the "costs, uncertainty and distraction" of continued legal action... Reckitt's settlement is one of many now emerging from crackdowns on opioid marketing, with Purdue Pharma and Insys paying hundreds of millions to get out from under legal threats...The government claims Reckitt and Indivior deceptively marketed Suboxone Film as a safer, less divertable and less abusable form of opioid. Following the Reckitt settlement, these charges are still being made against Indivior, which was the target of a criminal grand jury indictment in the U.S. District Court for Western Virginia...READ MORE

Drugmakers have speculated about delivering temperature-sensitive vaccines and drugs to remote locations using drones. Now, Merck & Co. is testing the method...Merck initiated the idea, and a collection of players coordinated by humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief have now moved to proof-of-concept missions. They developed and flew a drone with a temperature-controlled payload over the waters around the Bahamas..."This successful pilot demonstrates the potential of innovative unmanned aerial vehicles technology to aid in delivery of temperature-dependent medicines and vaccines to people who critically need them," Craig Kennedy, Merck's senior vice president of supply chain, said...Drone maker Volans-i built and operated the all-electric drones, while packaging expert Softbox developed the temperature-controlled payload box. Merck provided supply chain consulting...READ MORE

Retail chains led by CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance are expected to dominate the emerging multi-billion-dollar U.S. market of CBD, the compound derived from cannabis...CBD is gaining in popularity among consumers with the legal CBD market projected to surpass $23 billion in annual U.S. sales by 2023...This year, such sales are projected to be $5 billion - a sevenfold increase over 2018...“The CBD market has been growing rapidly, but we will see unprecedented growth in 2019,”...“The bulk of this growth is coming from large retailers like CVS, Walgreens, and Kroger entering the market and providing that availability to consumers.”...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.

The White House will withdraw a controversial plan to ban drugmaker rebates to pharmacy benefit managers in Medicare and Medicaid, stepping back from what the administration had once billed as "the most significant change in how Americans' drugs are priced at the pharmacy counter."..."Based on careful analysis and thorough consideration, the President has decided to withdraw the rebate rule...noting ongoing discussions about potential legislation around drug pricing...Drugmakers had supported the proposed rule, which fit with pharma's public relations campaign attacking the role played by PBMs in keeping drug costs high...READ MORE

Product safety is a multifaceted issue for any retailer dealing with the pharmacy and prescriptions, and the systems that are in place to protect the quality and integrity of the goods offered constantly are evolving to strengthen the industry’s defenses...One of the key loopholes between consumers and the dangers of unsafe products, however, is the potential for the introduction of items from other countries that fail to meet the rigorous safety standards of the United States...The Food Safety Modernization Act, which took effect in 2011, sought to close that gap by imposing tighter regulation around the import of foods and ingredients from overseas...Market pressures in the pharmaceutical industry, however, have led officials at both the state and federal levels to explore the possibility of bringing drugs in from other countries at a lower cost, potentially circumventing the Food and Drug Administration’s close oversight of U.S.-made medications...the...National Association of Chain Drug Stores see several potential problems with the import of prescription medications from other countries, including:

Issues around the adequacy, consistency and integrity of the supply;

Issues around quality and safety;

Problems with maintaining dual inventories inside pharmacies;

Burdensome testing requirements;

Costs of establishing an infrastructure for imported drugs; and

Liabilities for injuries caused by imported drugs...READ MORE

The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published Estimated Changes in Manufacturer and Health Care Organization Revenue Following List Price Reductions for Hepatitis C Treatments by Sean Dickson and Ian Reynolds. The paper purports to show that manufacturers’ net revenues increased following a decrease in three drugs’ list prices...However, the paper contains a significant computational error: The authors do not properly calculate the 340B ceiling price. Consequently, the authors’ calculations are inaccurate and their conclusions are erroneous. As we might expect, a manufacturer’s revenue per-patient doesn’t increase when list prices decline and net prices remain constant...READ MORE

Endo Pharmaceuticals' latest awareness campaign for Peyronie’s disease continues with the company’s humorously irreverent tone. The “Ask About the Curve” effort partners with well-known urologist Aaron Spitz, who the campaign notes is America’s favorite penis doctor, and offers online resources such as a “Know Your Penis” quiz...The digital and public relations campaign, created by Ogilvy, also includes a man-on-the-street video that asks men if they know what Peyronie’s disease is (they don’t) and their visceral reactions to finding out that it’s medical condition with scar tissue forming in the penis and causing pronounced curvature and sometimes pain. Images used in the campaign show bent beer and ketchup bottles to draw attention to the curve...Endo markets Xiaflex to treat Peyronie’s disease as well as a connective tissue disorder that affects hands called Dupuytren’s contracture...READ MORE