Top of the morning to you. Steely gray skies are hovering over the Pharmalot campus right now, but our spirits remain sunny, nonetheless. Why? We will trot out a bit of insight from the Morning Mayor, who would say “Every new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” To celebrate the notion, we are brewing still more cups of stimulation and invite you to join us. Our flavor today is the aromatic chocolate raspberry. Remember, a prescription is not required. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest. Hope you have a smashing day and, of course, do stay in touch. Postcards and telegrams are still in vogue around here. …
As the U.S. drug crisis has accelerated, the pharmaceutical industry has jumped into action — particularly when it comes to naloxone, the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, STAT reports. At first glance, the race to create stronger, more advanced overdose-reversal tools seems like a win-win: a case study in American pharmaceutical companies saving countless lives and turning a profit along the way. But drug companies have used the opioid crisis, and the nation’s fear of fentanyl, to aggressively market high-cost naloxone products that divert resources away from cheaper forms of the life-saving medication. And these expensive new products do not fill a legitimate public health need.
The Ohio attorney general filed a lawsuit accusing three large pharmacy benefit managers of fixing prices for various medicines, the latest effort to scrutinize the controversial companies that occupy a crucial role in pharmaceutical pricing, STAT writes. The lawsuit alleges Humana, Prime Therapeutics, and Cigna — which owns Express Scripts — shared pricing information and other data gathered by a company based in Switzerland to gain an upper hand in negotiations with drug companies for rebates on insulins and other drugs, including generics. The company was created as a subsidiary of Express Scripts, which gave Prime a minority stake in 2019, the suit stated.
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