The ACR recently issued three new position statements on key issues facing rheumatologists and patients with rheumatic diseases: step therapy, affordable prescription drug pricing and a special waived test designation for synovial fluid crystal analysis performed by rheumatologists. Here is a detailed look at each. Addressing Step Therapy Step therapy or fail first protocols require patients…
U.S. Senators Tell Drug Company Execs Pricing Is Morally Repugnant
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. Senators called drug pricing practices “morally repugnant” and told drug company executives they do not want to hear them blame others for the high prices, taking an aggressive stance at the start of a Senate hearing on the rising costs of prescription medicines. Executives from Abbvie Inc., AstraZeneca PLC., Sanofi SA, Pfizer…
Pfizer Plans to Increase U.S. Drug Prices in January
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Pfizer Inc. said on Friday that it plans to hike U.S. prices on 41 of its medicines in January, after walking back its previous price increases this summer under pressure from President Donald Trump. The company said in a statement that the increases would be on around 10% of its drugs. Pfizer said…
ACR & NPF Highlight Medicare Access Challenges in Capitol Hill Briefing
Concerns about how the Trump administration’s ideas to lower drug prices could reduce patient access to medicines led the ACR to speak out on many different fronts. On June 25, at a briefing hosted by the ACR and the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF), a packed room of Congressional staffers and reporters learned from rheumatologists and…
Biosimilars: Still Waiting for Promise to Materialize
During the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, advances in biosimilar treatments were abuzz. However, many speakers noted that the presence of biosimilars on the market has not yet resulted in greater access to treatment and lower drug pricing in the U.S…
Drug Industry Group Sues to Stop California Drug Price Law
(Reuters)—The trade group representing U.S. drugmakers on Friday said it has a filed a lawsuit to stop California from implementing a law aimed at reining in prescription drug prices. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), in a statement, said it filed litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California…
Drug Industry on Tenterhooks as Maryland Price-Gouging Law Nears
(Reuters)—As U.S. consumer outrage grows over prescription drug prices, state authorities and patient advocates in Maryland are preparing to enforce the nation’s first law designed to punish drugmaker price-gouging. The Maryland Attorney General’s office said it will field complaints and investigate “unconscionable increases” in essential generic medicines when the closely watched law takes effect Oct….
Pfizer Hikes U.S. Prices of 91 Drugs by Average 20% in 2017
(Reuters)—Pfizer Inc. has hiked the price of nearly a hundred drugs by an average of 20 percent so far this year in the U.S., the Financial Times reported on Friday. The U.S. drug maker raised the list price of 91 medicines—including that of its erectile dysfunction treatment, Viagra, and its pain drug, Lyrica—on June 1…
Two U.S. Lawmakers Probe Marathon over $89,000 Drug Price
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Two U.S. lawmakers have called on privately held Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC to explain how it came to price its newly approved drug to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy at $89,000 a year when patients have for decades been able to acquire it overseas for as little as $1,000. The drug, Emflaza, known generically as deflazacort,…
U.S. Senators Question Kaleo’s $4,500 tag on Opioid Overdose Treatment
(Reuters)—U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) on Thursday asked Kaleo Pharmaceuticals to justify the more than 550% surge in the price of its device to treat opioid overdoses, becoming the second senator to question Evzio’s $4,500 price tag. Evzio contains the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and can be used in emergencies by people without medical training. Privately…