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☆ Facing an early death, a CEO created a 'digital twin' of his body. It transformed his health.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

They can track a patient's health over time, suggesting personalized interventions. AdvertisementDonaldson was one of the first customers at Twin Health. Twin Health is the only company that leverages digital twin AI for diabetes "reversal" — or, as doctors prefer to say, "remission." If his blood sugar starts going up, he's noticed that getting out for a walk can help bring it back down. "All of my information goes in and it talks to me like a smarter version of myself saying, 'you ate this, this was really good.

Persons: —, Devlin Donaldson, he'd, that's, Donaldson, I'm, Omada, Twin's, Twin, he's, Nicola Guess, Guess, she's Organizations: Service, Business, Twin Health, Virta, Oxford University, Apple Watch, Twin Health Healthcare, McKinsey & Company

☆ Under Bernie Sanders’s Glare, Pharmaceutical Chiefs Will Testify on Drug Prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Noah Weiland | Rebecca Robbins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The chief executives of three major pharmaceutical companies are set to appear in front of the Senate health committee on Thursday to defend how much they charge for drugs in the United States, drawing them further into a confrontation with lawmakers and the Biden administration over the cost of some of the most widely used prescription medications. The three executives scheduled to testify — Joaquin Duato of Johnson & Johnson, Robert M. Davis of Merck and Christopher Boerner of Bristol Myers Squibb — are expected to clash with the health committee’s chairman, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who has made reining in drug prices a signature cause of his late-career years in Congress. Mr. Sanders plans to focus the hearing on why drug prices are higher in the United States than in other wealthy countries. His staff has singled out several widely used drugs, including Eliquis, a blood thinner made by Bristol Myers Squibb, and Januvia, a diabetes drug from Merck, that can be bought for much less in Canada and Europe than in the United States.

Persons: Biden, — Joaquin Duato, Johnson, Robert M, Davis, Christopher Boerner, Bernie Sanders of, Sanders Organizations: Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb Locations: United States, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Canada, Europe

☆ If You’re on Medicare, You Could Save Money on Drugs This Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Mark Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s the best news that few people seem to know about: Prescription drug costs are falling this year for more than a million seniors — in many cases, by thousands of dollars. Its changes to Medicare, which will help people who are enrolled in the prescription drug coverage plans known as Part D, are significant. expands eligibility for financial assistance with Part D costs for low-income seniors. The law has also authorized Medicare to negotiate prices for expensive drugs with pharmaceutical companies for the first time. The first negotiations will be over 10 drugs, including the blood thinners Eliquis and Xarelto and the diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia.

Persons: Biden, Jardiance Organizations: Medicare

☆ US Government Sends Initial Offers for Medicare Drug Price Cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - The Biden administration is sending drugmakers opening offers for the U.S. Medicare program's first ever price negotiations on Thursday, the White House said in a statement. President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allows Medicare, which covers 66 million Americans mostly aged 65 and older, to negotiate prices for some of its most costly drugs. The initial offers have been sent to manufacturers of 10 high-cost medicines, which include Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer's blood thinner Eliquis, Merck & Co's diabetes drug Januvia and Johnson & Johnson's blood thinner Xarelto. The HHS and White House did not disclose details on the offers. (Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Sriraj Kalluvila)

Persons: Biden, Medicare program's, Joe Biden's, Januvia, Johnson, Urvi Dugar, Sriparna Roy, Toby Chopra, Sriraj Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Medicare, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, HHS, White Locations: Bengaluru

Three names in the industry – Johnson & Johnson , Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb – face a pivotal few weeks ahead. They join Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner, who agreed to the panel's initial invitation to appear. But why is the committee targeting Merck, J&J and Bristol Myers Squibb in the first place? J&J, Merck and Bristol Myers Squib are all suing to halt the talks, which will establish new prices that will go into effect in 2026. Bristol Myers Squibb's Opdivo is an immunotherapy used to treat cancers, including melanoma and lung cancer.

Persons: Annika Kim Constantino, – Johnson, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Joaquin Duato, Robert Davis, Chris Boerner, Sanders, Eli Lilly's, Januvia, Bristol Myers, He's, Biden, Merck's, Myers, Eliquis, Mike Perrone, it's Organizations: CNBC.com, Johnson, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bristol Myers, Medicare, Bristol, CNBC, pharma Locations: U.S, drugmakers

☆ Merck, Johnson & Johnson CEOs agree to testify in Senate hearing on high drug prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., holds his news conference with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in the Capitol on Thursday, January 25, 2024, on issuing subpoenas for pharmaceutical company CEOs to testify regarding drug prices. The CEOs of Merck and Johnson & Johnson have voluntarily agreed to testify at an upcoming Senate hearing on high drug prices in the U.S., Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Friday, as lawmakers ramp up efforts to rein in health-care costs for Americans. Meanwhile, Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner and another unnamed pharmaceutical CEO agreed to initial invitations to testify. The push to cut drug prices is one of the rare issues that has united both major political parties in recent years — though they have often backed different approaches to doing so. Last year, the Senate Health Committee similarly heard testimony from the CEOs of Moderna , Eli Lilly , Novo Nordisk and Sanofi on high drug prices.

Persons: Sen, Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey, Johnson, Joaquin Duato, Robert Davis, Chris Boerner, Sanders, Januvia, Bristol Myers, Joe Biden's, J, Eli Lilly Organizations: Merck, Johnson, Health, Education, Labor, Pensions, Bristol Myers, Bristol, J, Moderna, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi Locations: U.S

☆ Drugmakers opt in to Medicare drug price negotiations – here's what happens next
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A pharmacist holds a bottle of the drug Eliquis, made by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, January 9, 2020. All drugmakers of the first 10 medicines selected for Medicare drug price negotiations have agreed to participate in the talks, even after many of them sued to halt the process last month. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not immediately respond to a request to confirm that all drugmakers agreed to the talks. President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year, empowered Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in the program's six-decade history. The pharmaceutical industry also argues that the process will threaten revenue growth, profits and drug innovation.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson Januvia, Merck Farxiga, Novartis Enbrel, Amgen Imbruvica, AbbVie Stelara, Janssen, Bristol Myers, Biden Organizations: Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, CNBC, Medicare, Services, Sunday, Bristol Myers Squibb Jardiance, Johnson, Merck, AstraZeneca Entresto, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, U.S, CMS, Bristol, Bristol Myers Squibb Locations: Provo , Utah

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Social Security and Medicare at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida, U.S. February 9, 2023. The ruling is the first to come from multiple lawsuits by drug companies and industry groups challenging the program. The drug price negotiation program is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden, a Democrat, signed last year. The Biden administration has repeatedly said there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits drug price negotiations. Many other countries already negotiate drug prices.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, vindicating, Joe Biden's, Michael Newman, Biden, drugmakers, Newman, Karine Jean, Pierre, Donald Trump, Johnson, Januvia, Bristol Myers, Boehringer, Brendan Pierson, Nate Raymond, Costas Pitas, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot, Chris Reese, Leslie Adler Organizations: Social Security, University of Tampa, REUTERS, U.S, District, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Medicare, Commerce, U.S . Justice, Republicans, Big Pharma, Republican, U.S . Centers, Medicaid Service, CMS, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Johnson, Merck, Co's, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, Companies, Thomson Locations: Tampa , Florida, U.S, Dayton , Ohio, New York, Boston

☆ Medicare's drug-price negotiations will save the government billions in healthcare spending — but patients may not feel the benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Natalie Rahhal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Patients with private health insurance aren't likely to see a drop in costs from the negotiations. Longo said the price-setting provisions will drive research and investment away from treatment options for Medicare patients. If drug companies won't come to the negotiating table to lower drug prices paid by private insurers, those insurers could take the companies' drugs off their lists of covered medications. Or, if private insurance companies don't negotiate drug prices down for their patients, patients in some cases could seek out different insurance. "These are not full solutions, but they are the beginning of cracks in the facade" of drug companies' constant price hikes, Feldman said.

Persons: Biden, Juliette Cubanski, Jeffrey Davis, Davis, Richard Frank, —, Nicole Longo, Longo, it's, — aren't, Robin Feldman, Feldman, Cuban's Organizations: Medicare, Healthcare, Morning, Centers, Services, Congressional, McDermott, Consulting, Brookings Schaeffer Initiative, Health, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, PhRMA, University of California Law School, Costco, Pharmaceutical Locations: Lower

☆ Opinion | The Promise and Risk of Biden’s War on Drug Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In a textbook free market, “fair” is whatever the market will bear. But these drugs don’t fit that model. Patents protect them from competition, allowing their producers to price them high. On the other hand, because of their high upfront development costs, pricing the drugs very low, at marginal cost, would be unrealistic. If that’s all the manufacturers earned from them, they would have no incentive to stay in business and develop new drugs.

Persons: Biden, Seshamani — Organizations: Big Pharma, pharma, Producers

He said that once implemented, the prices on negotiated drugs will decrease for up to 9 million seniors who currently pay as much as $6,497 in out-of-pocket costs per year for these prescriptions. This kicks off the negotiation process for the 10 drugs whose new prices will go into effect in 2026. U.S. laws had prohibited Medicare from negotiating pharmaceutical prices as part of its prescription drug program that began about 20 years ago. CMS Director Dr. Meena Seshamani said Medicare plans to use a review process to make sure insurance companies keep clinically appropriate access to negotiated drugs. Two analysts said they expect the negotiated prices to move beyond Medicare and affect commercial markets for these drugs by 2026, when they come into effect.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Biden, Joe Biden’s, Januvia, Xarelto, Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly's, Jardiance, Mohit Bansal, Entresto, Eli Lilly, Merck, Bristol Myers, Giovanni Caforio, Caforio, enrollees, Meena Seshamani, Stelara, Amgen, Evan Seigerman, Patrick Wingrove, Mike Erman, Manas Mishra, Nandita Bose, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Social Security, University of Tampa, REUTERS, U.S, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Merck, Co's, Johnson, Novo Nordisk, NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical, U.S . Centers, Medicare, Medicaid Services, Reuters Graphics Wells, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Bristol, J, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, BMO Capital, Thomson Locations: Tampa , Florida, U.S, Amgen's, Jardiance, Germany, Bengaluru, Washington

The medications on the list are taken by millions of older Americans and cost Medicare billions of dollars annually. The drugs were selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through a process that prioritized medications that account for the highest Medicare spending, have been on the market for years and do not yet face competition from rivals. Drugs Selected for Price Negotiations1. Eliquis, for preventing strokes and blood clots, from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer2. Xarelto, for preventing strokes and blood clots, from Johnson & Johnson4.

Persons: Biden, Price, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Johnson Organizations: Tuesday, Medicare, Centers, Services, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Johnson, Merck, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Novo Nordisk Locations: AbbVie, Novo

☆ Explainer: Why the US is negotiating the price of 10 drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

What are the Medicare drug price negotiations? The Medicare agency, known as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), was previously forbidden by law from bartering prices with manufacturers. The negotiations must end by Aug. 1, and Medicare will publish its list of new prices on Sept. 1. The process will begin again in February of 2025, when CMS selects another 15 costly prescription drugs for negotiations, with new prices on those going into effect in 2027. All the lawsuits seeking to avoid drug price negotiations argue that the new law is unconstitutional.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden’s, Patrick Wingrove, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Major Economies, White, REUTERS, U.S, Merck, Co's, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Medicare, Medicaid Services, CMS, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Thomson Locations: Energy, Washington , U.S

☆ Biden administration unveils first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Fiasp and NovoLog, insulins made by Novo Nordisk The Medicare negotiations are the centerpiece of the Biden administration's efforts to rein in the rising cost of medications in the U.S. Drugmakers such as Merck and Johnson & Johnson and their supporters aim to derail the negotiations, filing at least eight lawsuits in recent months seeking to declare the policy unconstitutional. Drugmakers' legal challengesMerck, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Astellas Pharma are among the companies suing to halt the negotiation process. The suits make similar and overlapping claims that Medicare negotiations are unconstitutional. Biden and his top health officials have embraced the lawsuits as evidence that they're making progress in the fight to cut drug prices.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden's, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson Januvia, Merck Farxiga, Novartis Enbrel, Amgen Imbruvica, AbbVie Stelara, Janssen, insulins, Johnson, Leigh Purvis, Drugmakers, drugmakers, Robert Davis Organizations: Bristol, Myers Squibb Jardiance, Johnson, Merck, AstraZeneca Entresto, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Medicare, Centers, Services, Biden, AARP Public, Institute, Congressional, Office, Myers Squibb, Astellas Pharma, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Supreme, Court, Circuit Court, Pharma, White, Big Pharma Locations: U.S, Bristol

☆ These 10 medications are likely targets for Medicare price negotiations this fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Though it is still unclear which 10 drugs Medicare will select, several pharmaceutical companies have already revealed in court filings that they expect four of their blockbuster medications to be targeted. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson , in separate filings, said their blood thinners Eliquis and Xarelto will be subject to the negotiations this year. The list price of Januvia has surged 275% since 2006, according to the AARP. Johnson & Johnson reported $2.47 billion in revenue from Xarelto. "More and more people face cost-sharing that is directly affected by drug price increases," Leigh Purvis, who analyzes health-care costs for AARP, told reporters on a call Thursday.

Persons: Daniel Acker, Merck, Johnson, Abbvie, Imbruvica, Jardiance, Boehringer Ingelheim, Amgen Symbicort, Pfizer Xtandi, Breo, Biden, Januvia, Eliquis, Xarelto, Leigh Purvis Organizations: Merck, Co, Inc, Bloomberg, Getty, Medicare, Services, Myers Squibb, Johnson, Pharmacy, AstraZeneca Ibrance, Pfizer, Astellas Pharma, GSK, AARP, Bristol Myers Squibb, Jama Network, Industry Locations: Bristol, U.S, Januvia, Xarelto

☆ Drugmakers aim to strike down Medicare drug-price negotiations at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

And Bristol Myers Squibb is trying protect its blood thinner Eliquis, which brought in $11.8 billion in sales last year, or about 25% of the company's $46 billion total revenue for 2022. Long legal battle aheadMerck, the chamber and Bristol Myers Squibb filed their lawsuits ahead of two key deadlines. Bristol Myers Squibb did not either. If circuit court decisions on the matter contradict one another, the Supreme Court would step in to decide the issue, Bagby said. Bristol Myers Squibb made an identical argument in its complaint.

Persons: Richard A, Gonzalez, Pascal Soriot, Giovanni Caforio, Jennifer Taubert, Johnson, Kenneth C, Frazier, Albert Bourla, Olivier Brandicourt, Win Mcnamee, Drugmaker Merck, Drugmaker, Bristol Myers Squibb, PhRMA, Eli Lilly, Merck, Bristol Myers, Robin Feldman, Nicholas Bagley, Bagley, Gretchen Whitmer, Chris Meekins, Raymond James, Antonin Scalia, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Meekins, Long, Xavier Becerra, Randolph Daniel Moss, Barack Obama, Judge Thomas M, Rose, George W, Bush, Kelly Bagby, Bagby, Amgen, Donald Trump, Karine Jean, Pierre, Biden, Jean, we'll, Becerra, Feldman Organizations: Senate, AbbVie Inc, AstraZeneca, Myers Squibb Co, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson, Merck & Co, Inc, Pfizer, Sanofi, Getty, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Myers Squibb, Washington , D.C, Southern, Southern District of, Democratic Party, U.S, Merck, Bristol, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, CNBC, Medicare, University of California College of, Justice Department, Michigan Gov, Bristol Myers, Human Services, Centers, Services, AARP Foundation, HHS, AARP, Specialty Pharmacy, Reuters, Supreme, Appeals, Democratic, U.S . Sixth, Republican, Third, White Locations: America, Washington , DC, Bristol, U.S, Washington ,, Southern District, Southern District of Ohio, New Jersey, Commerce's Dayton , Ohio, San Francisco

☆ Merck set to remove cancer-causing chemical from top diabetes drugs - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Merck & Co Inc FollowJan 17 (Reuters) - Merck & Co (MRK.N) has discovered how its blockbuster diabetes drugs have become contaminated with a potential carcinogen and believes it can resolve the problem by the end of the year, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The impurity arose mostly during storage, as well as during manufacturing, Bloomberg News said. Merck did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The FDA said in August certain samples of sitagliptin, a compound in Merck's diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet, were contaminated with a possible carcinogen. For the nine month ended September, Januvia and Janumet posted sales of $2.25 billion and $1.35 billion, respectively.

☆ Biden administration will select first 10 drugs for Medicare price negotiations by September
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The negotiated prices for those 10 Medicare Part D drugs will go into effect in January 2026. This includes drugs for rare diseases, plasma or blood-derived products, drugs developed by small biotech companies and drugs that Medicare spends less than $200 million on. The products may not be part of the eventual price negotiations due to generic competition or a change in Medicare expenditures. In the program's second phase, HHS will select another 15 Medicare Part D drugs to negotiate, with prices taking effect in 2027. In phase four, HHS will negotiate prices for 20 Part B or D drugs, taking effect in 2029.

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