Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. But busy is good, yes? Moreover, the tasks in front of us are made easier by a shiny sun and cool breeze enveloping the Pharmalot campus. This calls for celebratory cup of stimulation — chocolate cherry decadence is on tap — and, as always, we invite you to join us. Remember, no prescription is required. So there is no need to worry about those tiresome deductibles, copays, or rebates. Isn’t that nice? Meanwhile, here are some items of interest. Hope you have a swell day and please do keep in touch …
Eli Lilly (LLY) and AstraZeneca (AZN) ended two late-stage trials of an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease after the treatment failed to show any signs of working, adding to a litany of disappointments, Bloomberg News says. Like several others that failed, the drug targeted a protein called amyloid, thought to be a cause of the disease. The class of medicines known as BACE inhibitors operate before amyloid forms into deposits called plaques. Many researchers now believe that administering drugs after amyloid builds up in the brain may come too late to affect Alzheimer’s progress.
IQVIA (IQV) is hardly a household name, but its chief executive made more last year than the chief executive of any big drug maker or biotech, The Wall Street Journal tells us. The data company, which collects prescription sales, medical claims, and other patient records, and analyzes the information for the pharmaceutical industry, insurers, and governments, paid Ari Bousbib $38 million last year. By contrast, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the largest U.S. pharmaceutical company by revenue, paid its chief executive, Alex Gorsky, $29.8 million.
About the Author Reprints
If I may quote – “It is not yet clear, though, whether any drug companies have agreed to cut their prices voluntarily.” And if the ‘voluntary cuts’ will mean any more than ‘the voluntary 10% price caps’ that seem to have both come and gone with the wind. The day after Singapore, we may observe another exercise in ‘wind and optics,’ although without a signing ceremony.