WHAT’S HAPPENING: In the Build Back Better bill, Democrats are actually proposing limiting insulin prices to $35 a month but Republicans can’t have any of that. PhRMA spent pharma’s money well and bought some politicians while people who need insulin are suffering.
Month: December 2021
OPENING: American cancer patients spent more than $21 billion on their care in 2019. That $21.09 billion included out-of-pocket costs of $16.22 billion and patient time costs of $4.87 billion. As cancer survival rates rise, so do the price tags of life-saving treatments. Monthly drugs costs may reach $100,000, causing many Americans to struggle with the physical and emotional effects of high out-of-pocket medical costs. Even worse, others are completely priced out of the hope for a cure
MY POINT: Success is always temporary. When all is said and one, the only thing you’ll have left is your character. Right now, I could make a great argument that Biogen’s character is trashed and that they are a company in dire need of authentic leadership.
LEAD IN: Pharma budgets are being scrutinized like never before, and DTC/HCP marketers must justify every dollar spent. I’m getting more requests to measure and justify spending for specific bucket tactics, and I believe once politicians get focused, they will scrutinize drug pricing and force negotiations with Medicare tightening internal expenditures even more.
LEAD-IN- Recent data confirms that health care professionals are using the Internet more and spending less time with drug company reps. How much should you spend on an HCP portal, and how do you measure its success?
LEAD IN: Pharma companies are a business and have the right to make money but at what cost and how much is enough? The world’s makers of Covid-19 vaccines—saw over $10 billion in new wealth, with the Moderna’s CEO alone adding over $800 million to his fortune. Is this acceptable?
LEAD-IN: Yesterday I had a long talk with someone who has been in the industry for over 25 years. She has decided to leave the pharma industry because she said, “patients have been reduced to numbers on an excel spreadsheet” and “I am tired of trying to get coworkers to see them as people with real needs.”
GOOD MORNING: The FDA is taking a scientific approach to evaluating direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising, focusing on measuring consumer perceptions of the information presented in ads. Since when is consumer behavior ever scientific?