The redacted interim report released July 9 of an ongoing FTC investigation into pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) shed little, if any, new insight into PBM practices and how they impact availability and pricing of prescription drugs in the U.S.
Although there’s bipartisan interest in the U.S. Congress to hold pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) accountable for their contribution to the costliest drug prices in the world, the Biden administration ignored PBMs when it again focused on drug companies as the bad guys of pricing in its proposed 2025 budget.
Three U.S. federal government agencies announced that their focus on consolidation in health care markets may soon ramp up, given concerns that consolidation may be affecting the cost and quality of patient care.
More than a year and a half after the U.S. FTC launched its investigation into how pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices and consolidation impact patients’ ability to access and afford their prescription drugs, the six biggest PBMs in the country have yet to fully comply with the agency’s June 2022 order to provide data and documents pertaining to certain business practices.
The Feb. 8 U.S. drug pricing hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee started out as a spectacle in which Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) rehashed his usual talking points as he lectured the CEOs of Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. Inc. about how their companies charge so much more for their drugs in the U.S. than in other countries. But despite the show-trial aspects of the hearing, or what Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) called Sanders’ ongoing “CEO-whack-a-mole” agenda, some facts came through that could lead to pricing reforms if Congress has the bipartisan will to do so.
What’s the status of the U.S. FTC’s investigation into pharmacy benefit managers’ (PBMs) role in prescription drug prices? Inquiring minds in the Senate really want to know, especially since the investigation began more than 18 months ago. “We urge the FTC to complete its 6(b) study in a timely manner,” 14 senators, led by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), wrote in a Jan. 22 letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan.
Biosimilars grabbed a lot of headlines in 2023, thanks to the biggest U.S. biosimilar launch to date targeting Abbvie Inc.’s mega-blockbuster Humira (adalimumab). Eight biosimilars referencing the immunology drug entered the U.S. market under licensing agreements with Abbvie. Amgen Inc.’s Amjevita led the pack with a five-month headstart in January. The others – including the first adalimumab interchangeable, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH’s Cyltezo – launched in July.
Light therapy during sleep helps increase resistance to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression, a study in Frontiers of Optoelectronics suggests. The researchers found that photobiomodulation (PBM) during deep sleep improved the ability of the lymphatic system to flush beta-amyloid from the brains of mice, demonstrating the importance of sleep in fending off the neurodegenerative disease and opening a possible new therapy for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is once again in the crosshairs thanks to issues related to pharmacy benefits managers and coverage of novel medical devices, with Congress mulling over two dozen pieces of Medicare-related legislation.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is once again in the crosshairs thanks to issues related to pharmacy benefits managers and coverage of novel medical devices, with Congress mulling over two dozen pieces of Medicare-related legislation.
