- European and UK pharma industry call for action as parliament rejects Brexit deal (pharmaceutical-technology.com)
The European and UK pharma industry have called for preparations to ensure that patients will have access to their medications in case of a no-deal Brexit by 30 March 2019...The call follows parliament’s rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit withdrawal plan...the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations highlighted ‘real, tangible and immediate threats’ to patients and public health in the UK as well as the EU...“Now is the time for policy makers in the UK and the EU to put politics aside and put measures in place to prevent patients being harmed by the consequences of Brexit...“In particular from disruption to the supply of medicines including from transport delays at the border and where the development, manufacture, packaging, safety testing and regulation of the medicine no longer benefits from mutual recognition.”
- Walmart pharmacies likely to leave CVS network because of pricing dispute (cnbc.com)
CVS announced...that Walmart pharmacies are leaving its network because of a dispute over pricing...Both Walmart and CVS are saying that the other company is trying to make prescriptions more expensive for consumers...CVS said it has asked Walmart to stay in its networks through April 30...Walmart is one of the largest pharmacy chains in the United States with about 4,600 locations, but CVS said that the matter will not considerably impact its financial results. Less than 5 percent of affected CVS Caremark members use only Walmart to fill their prescriptions...
- U.S. health care industry spends $30 billion a year on marketing (reuters.com)Medical Marketing in the United States, 1997-2016 (jamanetwork.com)
Spending on health care advertising in the U.S. has almost doubled over the past two decades as companies compete for their share of the world’s biggest health care market...Annual health care marketing surged from $17.7 billion in 1997 to at least $29.9 billion in 2016, driven by a rapid spike in spending on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for prescription drugs, the study found...DTC spending climbed from $2.1 billion to $9.6 billion...Pharmaceutical marketing to health professionals accounted for the biggest outlay, and climbed from $15.6 billion to $20.3 billion despite new policies at hospitals and medical schools designed to limit industry influence over prescribing...
- Give it to us straight, doctors tell pharma advertisers—but being funny is OK, too (fiercepharma.com)
Want to catch doctors’ attention with flashy advertising and intellectual jargon? Don’t bother. A new study finds that physicians prefer simple and clear messages, with more than half (51%) admitting they don’t always understand what’s being communicated in pharma advertising...The survey of primary care physicians...revealed 76% of docs prefer simple language in advertising. Physicians understand how people could be confused by messages they see or read from marketers, because they themselves also get perplexed. More than one-third (39%) of doctors said they are sometimes confused by messaging, and another 35% reported being overwhelmed on occasion by the language used in the ads...That doesn’t mean ads have to be boring, however. Doctors like a good laugh in advertising, with 62% saying they liked funny ads. Another 51% gave the thumbs-up for creative work, and 49% said they liked “unique” ads.
- State receives first reports on diabetes drug costs; questions remain over what will be publicly disclosed (thenevadaindependent.com)
Nearly 20 drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers submitted reports to the state detailing the costs of manufacturing and distributing diabetes drugs in advance of a Tuesday deadline, and state officials continue to comb through others received this week as they prepare to undertake their first examination of the factors contributing to the costs of treating Nevadans with diabetes...drug companies and PBMs...,insurers and pharmacies — were required to submit reports to the state explaining the costs associated with essential diabetes drugs and, for some, why the costs of those drugs increased significantly over the prior year...The new law additionally requires the state to compile an annual report analyzing the information it receives from drug companies and PBMs in aggregate to explain the factors contributing to the costs of treating diabetes...
- U.S. lawmaker launches investigation into pharma drug pricing (reuters.com)
A top U.S. lawmaker launched an investigation into pharmaceutical industry pricing practices on Monday, less than a week after he and fellow Democrats introduced legislation aimed at lowering medicine prices. Representative Elijah Cummings, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, sent letters to 12 drugmakers seeking information on price increases, investment in research and development, and corporate strategies to preserve market share and pricing power...Cummings’ letters focused on drugs that are the costliest to Medicare Part D, a program that helps beneficiaries of the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled pay for self-administered medicines like those purchased at drugstores, as well as drugs that have had the largest price increases over a five-year period.
- Pharma sales rep regulations proposal stalls in Philadelphia, but the battle’s not over yet (fiercepharma.com)
Big Pharma got a reprieve in Philadelphia last month, but only temporarily...city council paused its proposal to regulate pharmaceutical sales reps when the bill’s co-sponsors pulled it at the final meeting of the year, but they committed to taking it up again in 2019...Councilman Bill Greenlee and Councilwoman Cindy Bass announced they were pulling the proposal before a vote could be taken...and blamed new opposition on the fact that Big Pharma "has unleashed its money and reach to cause hysteria and spread false information.”...Greenlee accused the industry of “bullying” local businesses “when pharmaceutical companies threatened to pull any future medical conventions from the city because of the ‘perception’ of the legislation.”...The proposed “Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Practices” gifts and conduct ordinance would regulate pharma manufacturer reps in the city with measures such as having to register with the city, which includes a fee, and prohibiting any gifts to healthcare providers and office staff...follows efforts from other cities such as Chicago, which passed an ordinance to require sales rep licensing that went into effect in July 2017. Nevada also requires pharma manufacturers to submit a list of sales reps working in the state, report gifts or freebies over $10 and provide a list of drug samples distributed...
- Louisiana launching ‘Netflix model’ in Medicaid for hep C drugs (biopharmadive.com)
The Louisiana Department of Health is seeking a drug manufacturing partner for unrestricted access to curative hepatitis C treatments for Medicaid and incarcerated patients. Rather than pay the partner by prescription, the state would agree to pay a subscription fee similar to the Netflix model of paying a fixed monthly cost rather than paying per movie... The state said the plan is an attempt to help end the hep C epidemic in Louisiana. At least 39,000 people in the state's Medicaid program or in its prisons have the disease... fewer than 3% of Medicaid patients in Louisiana with hep C were treated last year. State officials blamed the lack of treatment on high drug prices.
- Sen. Sanders, Rep. Cummings introduce bill to lower U.S. drug prices (reuters.com)
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Elijah Cummings introduced legislation...aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs for American consumers...
- bill would peg U.S. prescription drug prices to the median price from five countries - Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Japan - where drug costs are typically far lower because of government price controls.
- also allow the U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services to negotiate prices in Medicare Part D, a program that helps Medicare beneficiaries pay for self-administered medicines like those purchased at drugstores.
- end a ban that keeps Americans from buying medicines at lower prices from Canada and other countries.
- Never mind last week’s hikes. Pharma still puts pricing at the top of its worry list: report (fiercepharma.com)
It may not seem as if pharma companies are biting their nails over drug prices. After all, a cohort of drugmakers made headlines last week with an annual round of January hikes. But the issue is on the top of industry worries for 2019, a new report finds...Slightly more than half of respondents to a GlobalData survey tagged pricing and reimbursement as their biggest worry this year...As that pricing pressure rolls on, GlobalData analysts also expect "aggressive negotiation tactics to drive down drug prices."...