Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so-familiar routine of meetings, deadlines, and the like has, predictably, returned. To cope, we are quaffing several needed cups of stimulation. Our choice so far today is the flavorful vanilla cinnamon nut. As always, please feel free to join us and, remember, no prescription is required. So there is no need to bother with co-pays or wondering about rebates. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. Hope your day is smashing and do stay in touch …
The pharmaceutical industry, pilloried by President Trump for the last two years, is war-gaming for the possibility that its worst fear is realized: that Democrats, if they flip control of the House, find common ground with the president to rein in drug prices, The New York Times writes. Democrats say they are determined to squeeze industry prices and profits, and they have a stack of legislative proposals to do so, while drug makers are quietly making contingency plans.
A bipartisan group of seven former FDA commissioners will advocate for breaking the Food and Drug Administration out of the Department of Health and Human Services and making it an independent agency, STAT reports. The idea is to make the FDA less vulnerable to political pressure so it can focus instead on protecting public health. While FDA’s mission has always been politicized, the issue is salient given President Trump’s propensity to pressure the agency to prioritize politically popular policies. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has been a good soldier.
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