Skip to Main Content

Top of the morning to you. Steely gray skies are hovering over the Pharmalot campus right now, but our spirits remain sunny, nonetheless. Why? We will trot out a bit of insight from the Morning Mayor, who would say “Every new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” To celebrate the notion, we are brewing still more cups of stimulation and invite you to join us. Our flavor today is the aromatic chocolate raspberry. Remember, a prescription is not required. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest. Hope you have a smashing day and, of course, do stay in touch. Postcards and telegrams are still in vogue around here. …

As the U.S. drug crisis has accelerated, the pharmaceutical industry has jumped into action — particularly when it comes to naloxone, the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, STAT reports. At first glance, the race to create stronger, more advanced overdose-reversal tools seems like a win-win: a case study in American pharmaceutical companies saving countless lives and turning a profit along the way. But drug companies have used the opioid crisis, and the nation’s fear of fentanyl, to aggressively market high-cost naloxone products that divert resources away from cheaper forms of the life-saving medication. And these expensive new products do not fill a legitimate public health need.

advertisement

The Ohio attorney general filed a lawsuit accusing three large pharmacy benefit managers of fixing prices for various medicines, the latest effort to scrutinize the controversial companies that occupy a crucial role in pharmaceutical pricing, STAT writes. The lawsuit alleges Humana, Prime Therapeutics, and Cigna — which owns Express Scripts — shared pricing information and other data gathered by a company based in Switzerland to gain an upper hand in negotiations with drug companies for rebates on insulins and other drugs, including generics. The company was created as a subsidiary of Express Scripts, which gave Prime a minority stake in 2019, the suit stated.

Unlock this article by subscribing to STAT+ and enjoy your first 30 days free!

GET STARTED

Create a display name to comment

This name will appear with your comment

There was an error saving your display name. Please check and try again.