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New data tells the truth about drug prices in 2021, and a deadly bird flu circulating the U.S. is a harbinger of what’s to come if we don’t take action on biotech innovation and climate change. (581 words, 2 minutes, 54 seconds) |
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‘Brand-name drug prices declined – or grew slowly – in 2021’ |
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This is the key finding of Drug Channels’ annual analysis of prices of drugs at 10 large pharmaceutical manufacturers—here’s a quick look. “When rebates and discounts were factored in, brand-name drug prices declined—or grew slowly—in 2021,”writes Drug Channels’ Adam Fein. “Consistent with our previous analyses, rebates and discounts reduced the selling prices of brand-name drugs to less than half of their list prices.”
Dig deeper: “For 2021, brand-name drug list prices grew by less than 5% at all 10 companies,” says Dr. Fein. “The unweighted average discount off list was 52%, i.e. less than half price. The weighted average brand-name portfolio had list-price discounts of -42% to -75%.” |
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This is a trend: “average net drug prices have declined for the past five years—though a few companies had net price gains or slower declines in 2021,” he continues. Why it matters: “As I have pointed out many times, pharma industry perma-critics refuse to accept that brand-name drug prices are falling—or that prescription drug spending is a small and stable portion of overall U.S. healthcare expenditures,” says Dr. Fein. The data: Drug Channels looked at 2021 pricing reports for Eli Lilly, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Takeda, and UCB. Read the whole thing. More Health Care News: National Infusion Center Association: Meet Patient Advocates on World Lupus Day
“Two sisters, Juana and Estela, leverage their autoimmune disease diagnosis to advocate for other patients through their nonprofit Looms 4 Lupus.” |
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Why deadly bird flu matters to humans |
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“The U.S. is in the midst of its worst deadly bird flu outbreak in years,” reports PBS NewsHour—and it’s affecting humans in a few ways. Here’s what’s happening and how we can address it. What’s happening: A new strain of bird flu with “a near 100 percent mortality rate” has killed more than 36 million domestic birds across the U.S., including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, reports Vox.
“This strain is so contagious” that a single case found in a turkey farmer’s barn would require killing the entire flock, reports PBS NewsHour.
In addition to killing the birds, it also affects humans—farmers as well as consumers who are seeing rising poultry and egg prices add to the pain of food price and supply challenges globally.
And while the human health risk is (currently) low, at least one person has been infected by bird flu in the U.S., Bio.News reported last week.
This may become more common: “climate and land use change will produce novel opportunities for viral sharing among previously geographically-isolated species of wildlife,” found a recent study published in Nature.
What should we do about it? We need a One Health agenda that recognizes the links between human, animal, and environmental health—and we need to advance biotech tools like gene editing to make animals resistant to disease to begin with. |
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President Biden’s Wednesday: Visiting a family farm outside Chicago to discuss food prices and supply. This evening, he’ll address the 40th International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) International Convention and attend a DNC fundraiser in Chicago.
What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The Senate is expected to vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would protect abortion access. The bill passed the House, but is expected to fail in the Senate with support from just two Republicans, reports NBC. Meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up the FDA user fee reauthorization legislation, among other bills, and Dr. Anthony Fauci will testify on the NIH budget request. |
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