KEY PONTIFICATION: The all front attack against pharma drug pricing is going to de very little to lower overall healthcare costs but politicians are not about providing REAL results, they are all about getting re-elected. Pharma companies largely ignored the gathering storm clouds and went about business as usual which is resulting in new restrictions that are going to limit innovation.
Catalyst Pharma’s shares plunged more than 40% in after-hours trading Monday afternoon when the Food and Drug Administration approved a competitive drug to its Firdapse which cost over $350,000.
Prices of prescription drugs are going to be required in all DTC ads which may lead to confusion and delayed treatment for patients.
There is robust support among Democrats and even support among Republicans, for an expansion of the Medicare program through a Medicare buy-in or a Medicaid buy-in proposal. In addition, nearly half of Republicans and majorities of independents and Democrats favor an optional Medicare-for-all plan.
President Donald Trump on Monday directed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to work with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on the state’s drug import plan, according to Rep. Matt Gaetz.
President Donald Trump told Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in a phone call Wednesday that he approves of the state’s plan to lower prescription costs by importing drugs from Canada. “The president expressed his support for the drug importation bill and his commitment to ensuring Colorado receives approval,” a spokeswoman for Polis said in a statement Thursday.
The president’s backing may remove a big uncertainty around a plan that lawmakers hope can cut prices by as much as 50% for certain drugs that will be part of the program. The state is still putting together specifics of the program, including the list of drugs eligible to be imported. But it will ultimately require federal approval to be done legally.
Welcome to the front line in the battle over prescription drug prices
If you work in the industry and didn’t see this coming it’s time to take off the blinders. The drug industry is under an all front attack because they have lied to the public. The drug industry is still more profitable than Amazon; they used the tax savings to buy back stock, and drug company CEO’s are earning outrageous sums of money.
This is what happens when the industry ignores what’s happening in the real world and instead throws more money at their lobbying group PhRMA. This is what happens when the average compensation for some biotech companies is over $200,000 ensuring that employees will do anything to