- The U.S. Pays a Lot More for Top Drugs Than Other Countries (bloomberg.com)
Prices for brand-name drugs are typically higher in the U.S. than other developed countries. The drug industry has argued it's misleading to focus on U.S. list prices that exclude discounts struck behind closed doors with insurers...A Bloomberg News analysis finds that even after these discounts, prices are higher in the U.S. than abroad. Seven of eight top-selling drugs examined still cost more in the U.S. than most other countries..."We can no longer sustain a system where 300 million Americans subsidize drug development for the entire world," said Steve Miller, chief medical officer for Express Scripts Holding Co...The drug industry sees it differently..."The entire health-care system in the United States is more expensive than other countries," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group. "The difference in prices here in the U.S. compared to other countries is often vastly overstated," because comparisons don’t include all the discounts drugmakers give to various payers...In the U.S., list prices are just a little bit crazy, and even with discounts...
- The continuing adventures of the “Wolf of Pharma Street”; Analysis: Shkreli Isn’t to Blame For High Drug Prices in U.S (nbcnews.com)
Martin Shkreli Says Drug-Price Hikes Led to Arrest
KaloBios Says Martin Shkreli Terminated as CEO
Fired by KaloBios, a chastened Martin Shkreli claims bad boy persona was just an 'experiment'
Martin Shkreli’s social media accounts hacked, posting vulgar messages days after his arrest
Martin Shkreli's co-defendant gets to go to Cancun on vacation
- Novartis sees different drug pricing models: CEO in NZZ am Sonntag (reuters.com)
Drug companies have taken too great a share of the benefits of new drug treatments but are moving to different models involving sharing more with health systems and insurers..."We need to transition into a system in which pharmaceutical manufacturers share the benefits of new drugs"..."At the moment, we still keep too much of that benefit for ourselves."..."I'm not saying pricing in the United States is not an issue ... Something will change. But I don't think the government will bring that change, I think it will come from the private sector,"...
- Coverage for Medical-Benefit Drugs a Source of Consumer Confusion (realclearhealth.com)
Patients getting chemotherapy or other complex medications may have a sudden panic when shopping for health insurance: Their drugs often don’t appear to be covered...Despite advice to shop around before selecting a plan, consumers may find that getting answers about drug coverage can be an exercise in frustration, despite a federal health law requirement that insurers provide lists of the prescription medications included in their plans...That’s because many treatments — particularly intravenous treatments like those used in cancer, hemophilia or multiple sclerosis — are covered under a separate part of an insurance plan, not the pharmacy benefit. And details of that medical-benefit drug coverage can be hard or impossible to find online. But the information is important to know because the drugs tend to be costly, so if they’re not covered, patients might have to pay out of pocket, switch to different treatments or appeal to the plan...
- Drug costs soar as China tops world ranking in cancer (fiercepharmaasia.com)The Children of China's Cancer Slum: Drug Costs Putting Young Lives at Risk (bloomberg.com)
As World Health Organization figures show China rising to the top of the list of countries with the most cancer cases, its people are facing increasing problems in trying to find ways to pay for their treatments. Healthcare costs are soaring in the nation despite the government's efforts to force drug prices lower...China spends $115 billion on pharmaceuticals annually, but stubbornly high prices mean some are having to make life-and-death decisions...China's cancer crisis takes an estimated 2.2 million lives each year...and the trials and tribulations of its people are exacerbated by the lack of insurance...cancer patients pay anywhere from 80% to 120% of U.S. prices for foreign medicines and also pay up to 77% of all private healthcare costs...China claims that it covers 95% of the healthcare coverage for its citizens, but costly foreign drugs for cancer treatments are often not covered. The country is undergoing a massive reorganization of its healthcare system that is expected to cost upward of $460 billion and is trying to cut drug costs and improve insurance coverage...China's efforts to slash spending on drugs is having a perverse effect on its public hospitals which rely on drug sales to add to their operating revenues.
- Risk Tool Helps Pharmacists Qualify Patients for Take-Home Naloxone (pharmacytimes.com)
Alongside the growing prevalence of chronic pain and prescription opioid use, drug-related overdose continues to claim the lives of 17,000 Americans each year...Deaths from unintentional opioid overdose have increased 56% since 2010. In 2013, 83% of the opioid overdoses were unintentional...In 2010, there were approximately 136,000 emergency room visits related to opioid-induced respiratory depression and overdose. Needless to say, opioid overdoses are...drastically increasing health care costs...When naloxone is administered by first responders outside an institutional setting, it can improve outcomes for emergency opioid reversal prior to a patient reaching the emergency department. There are currently 2 FDA-approved naloxone formulations for take-home use: the auto-injector...and the new intranasal formulation...
- Who Should Receive Take-Home Naloxone?
- The Risk Index for Overdose or Serious Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression (RIOSORD)
- Risk Factors Associated with OSORD (opioid-induced respiratory depression)
- How Can I Use RIOSORD in a Community Pharmacy?
- Risk Mitigation and Patient Education
- Conclusion
With the availability of naloxone for take-home use, no one should lament over the loss of a loved one because a life-saving medication was not easily accessible...We can’t agree that naloxone availability will end opioid overdose deaths, but it certainly is our professional responsibility to ensure that we’ve taken every step to reduce risks...Pharmacists, physicians, and student clinicians have an excellent opportunity to mitigate opioid overdose risks by employing the validated RIOSORD tool. RIOSORD can aid opioid prescribers in identifying at risk patients, and it can also help encourage a candid dialogue among pharmacists, patients, and caregivers to reduce patient harm.
- What Types of ADEs Should Pharmacists Report to MedWatch? (pharmacytimes.com)
Teresa Rubio, PharmD of the FDA Office on Health and Constituents Affairs describes the types of adverse drug events that pharmacists should report to MedWatch.
- The top 10 pharma companies in social media (fiercepharmamarketing.com)
Chatting with the public is not in pharma's comfort zone. Drugmakers are adept at the one-way communication known as direct-to-consumer advertising, and some of them deal well with the media. Some even know how to work with patient groups. Back-and-forth with doctors? Pharma's daily bread...But put your average, everyday drug company in the middle of a public conversation, and it freezes up. Worried it will say the wrong thing, sensitive to criticism, mindful of unintended consequences, drugmakers usually prefer to stand by the punch bowl and check their iPhones for messages...You could say pharma has social anxiety...Drugmakers' usual excuse for remaining social-media wallflowers is regulation, or lack of it. The FDA's guidance on the subject is piecemeal and tardy; the agency has slapped companies for overstepping bounds they didn't know existed.
- Drug Approvals and Priority Reviews Highlight Cancer Treatment News (specialtypharmacytimes.com)
- Atezolizumab/Nab-Paclitaxel Highly Effective in Breast Cancer
- Pembrolizumab Effective in ER-Positive Breast Cancer
- Neratinib 3-Year ExteNET Data Similar to Primary Analysis
- Buparlisib Modestly Effective in Breast Cancer
- Avelumab Effective in PD-L1-Positive Breast Cancer
- Adding Denosumab Improves DFS in Breast Cancer
- FDA Approves Alectinib for ALK-Positive NSCLC
- FDA Approves Cooling Cap to Prevent Hair Loss
- Priority Review Granted to Palbociclib Plus Fulvestrant
- FDA Approves Bendamustine Hydrochloride for CLL, NHL
- Priority Review to Crizotinib for ROS1 NSCLC
- FDA Approves Uridine Triacetate for Chemo Overdose
- As Haggen exits, other businesses also suffer (reviewjournal.com)Haggen files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (reviewjournal.com)Haggen plans to close seven Las Vegas stores by Thanksgiving (reviewjournal.com)
The beauty boutique at 1946 Village Center Circle, inside Summerlin's Trails Village Center, has seen walk-in traffic tumble as much as 75 percent since the closure of grocer Haggen (Haggen Food & Pharmacy) next door, said owner Donna Catalfamo...Catalfamo's story illustrates how the closure of an anchor tenant in a neighborhood shopping center ripples down to small companies nearby. And a number of smaller businesses are feeling that effect today: Three of Haggen's seven Southern Nevada stores — locations at 1940 Village Center Circle, 820 S. Rampart Blvd. and 1031 Nevada Highway in Boulder City — remain empty, with few suitors in sight..."Traffic was down the minute the Haggen sign went up (in June)," Catalfamo said. "We started to feel the effects after the first week."...litigation can complicate leasing. Haggen is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and in August, it sued Albertsons, which sold Haggen 146 stores across the West for $300 million, alleging that Albertsons sabotaged its market debuts.