And so, another working week 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, once again, rather modest. We hope to hang with one or more of our short people, catch up on some reading and check in on the Pharmalot ancestors. And what about you? This may be an opportunity to make time for someone special or work down a growing to-do list. You could take in a moving picture or, if weather permits, go for a long, relaxing drive. You could also place bets on whether a certain report expected to be released will yield any real change in the corridors of power. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon …
On the eve of a Senate committee hearing into drug pricing, Sanofi (SNY) released an annual update on its prices in a bid to blunt anticipated criticism that its chief executive, Olivier Brandicourt, is expected to face over the cost of its medicines, particularly insulin. The drug maker maintained the average aggregate list price for medicines rose 4.6 percent last year, up from 1.6 percent in 2017, and that net prices — after subtracting $12.8 billion in rebates — were down 8 percent in 2018, down from 8.4 percent the year before. In 2018, Sanofi raised prices on 35 of 76 drugs.
CalPERS, the largest public employer purchaser of health benefits in California, may owe attorney’s fees after a Los Angeles County judge ruled three drug makers do not have to publicly disclose plans to raise prices, the Sacramento Bee reports. Amgen (AMGN), Ipsen, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) filed lawsuits contesting a drug pricing law that requires companies to notify the state before raising prices. The companies argued pricing plans were trade secrets, and revealing them could disrupt supplies by spurring some purchasers to buy lots of the drugs before the increases took effect.
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