What Happened, What You Missed: June 26-30, 2023
Eli Lilly’s New Obesity Drug Shows Promise A new obesity drug from Eli Lilly helped patients lose 24% of their weight, according to phase 2 clinical trial results posted this week. Known as retatrutide, the drug is a weekly injection that imitates certain digestive hormones that help patients feel “full” and thus decreases their appetite. […]
What Happened, What You Missed: June 5-9, 2023
Merck Sues HHS over Drug Pricing Law Pharmaceutical company Merck filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over Medicare’s plans to negotiate drug prices in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). According to the lawsuit, Merck says the IRA violates a Fifth Amendment clause that prohibits the government from […]
What Happened, What You Missed: April 17-21, 2023
CDC Approves Second Omicron Booster for Seniors & Immunocompromised The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidelines on Wednesday to allow an additional COVID-19 booster dose for adults who are 65 years or older and immunocompromised adults at least four months from their last dose. The move comes two days after a […]
What Happened, What You Missed: March 20-24, 2023
NIH Rejects March-In Rights Petition for Pricey Prostate Cancer Drug The National Institutes of Health (NIH) rejected a petition to force drugmakers Pfizer and Astellas to lower the price of their prostate cancer drug Xtandi using its “march-in” authority, according to a letter the agency sent to the petitioners on Tuesday. March-in rights, which have never been […]
What Happened, What You Missed: March 13-17, 2023
VA to Cover Controversial New Alzheimer’s Drug The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has agreed to cover new Alzheimer’s disease drug Leqembi for patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s, making the VA the first and largest health program in the nation to cover the drug. Developed by Biogen and Esai, the monoclonal antibody treatment is considered controversial because around one-fifth of […]
What Happened, What You Missed: February 27-March 3, 2023
Eli Lilly to Cut Price of Insulin Drugmaker Eli Lilly will reduce prices for its most commonly prescribed insulins by 70%, according to a press release issued by the company on Wednesday. Eli Lilly also announced that it would expand its Insulin Value Program that caps patient out-of-pocket costs at $35 or less per month. The high […]
What Happened, What You Missed: February 6-10, 2023
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit to Block States from Importing Drugs On Tuesday, US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly dismissed a lawsuit from PhRMA that sought to block states from importing prescription drugs from Canada. In his 26-page opinion, Kelly ruled that the plaintiffs were unable to prove that drug companies would face a “concrete risk of harm” […]
What Happened, What You Missed: June 6-10
Moderna Says Its Omicron-Specific Booster Is Effective Moderna announced on June 8 that a new vaccine candidate offers strong protection against the Omicron vaccine compared to the company’s original vaccine. The latest vaccine is bivalent, meaning it targets both the original iteration of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. While Moderna is seeking authorization from the Food and […]
What Happened, What You Missed: March 21-25
Moderna to Seek EUA for COVID-19 Vaccine for Children under Age 6 Moderna announced on Wednesday that it will ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVID-19 vaccine “as soon as possible.” Moderna’s initial data demonstrated that the vaccine is 44% effective at preventing infection from the Omicron variant […]
Can Lawmakers Pass Comprehensive Drug Pricing Reform This Year?
The White House is not giving up hope on Congress passing legislation this year to allow Medicare to negotiate on drug prices, according to a White House domestic policy advisor who spoke at AHIP’s National Conference on Health Policy and Government Health Programs in March. But if a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing is any indication, the odds of […]