Rise and shine, another busy day is on the way. We can tell because the official mascot got an early start chasing down cats, squirrels, and other creatures darting about the Pharmalot campus. And then there is the noisy parade of vehicles passing nearby on their way to who knows what? As for us, you guessed it, we are firing up the trusty coffee kettle to brew cups of stimulation. Our choice today is chocolate raspberry. You can never be too sweet, you know? Now, though, the time has come to get cracking. So here is the latest laundry list of interesting items for you to peruse. And we hope your day is tolerable and worthwhile. Keep in touch and best of luck …
President Biden will call for expanding a new cap on insulin prices to all Americans as part of his State of the Union address, Politico notes. During the Tuesday speech, Biden plans to tout efforts by his administration to make health care more affordable, which included imposing a $35-per-month limit on insulin that took effect in January. But that price cap, which was passed last year as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, only applied to those beneficiaries covered by Medicare. Biden is now expected to renew his push for the policy to be applied to anyone with an insulin prescription, according to a White House fact sheet.
In a bid to expand access to pricey cystic fibrosis treatments, a coalition of families and activists is petitioning four governments — South Africa, India, Brazil, and Ukraine — to make it possible to obtain generic versions of a medicine sold by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. And the coordinated effort underscores the growing global battle over equal access to medicines, STAT writes. The gambit largely involves the use of compulsory licenses, which lets a country grant a license to a public agency or a generic drugmaker to copy a patented medicine without the consent of the brand-name company that owns the patent. At issue is the Trikafta medication, which has a $326,000 list price in the U.S.
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