And so, another working week — albeit, an abbreviated one — will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is exceedingly modest this time around. We plan to hang with our short people and catch up on our naps amid preparations for the annual Woodstock gathering for biopharma types that kicks off next week. And what about you? This is a fine time to test your ability to stick with those New Year’s resolutions, assuming you made any. You could curl up with a good ebook or binge watch something on the telly. Or you could bet on the number of days before “the wall” is built. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon …
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tweeted earlier this week that price hikes this month were fewer and lower than at this time a year ago, but by how much? We asked HHS and were told this: On Jan. 1, 2018, drug makers raised prices on 1,800 medicines by a median increase of 9.1 percent, compared with a median increase of 6 percent on 1,026 medicines made on Jan. 1, 2019. Of course, this could easily change, up or down, since not all companies have reported price changes. One notable example is Pfizer (PFE), which promised a return to “business as normal.”
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