Top of the morning to you. And a fine one it is here at the Pharmalot campus, where the official mascots are quietly snoozing now that our shortest person has returned to her out-of-town studies. As for us, we are downing another cup of stimulation — blueberry cobbler is our preference today. Feel free to join us. As always, here are your tidbits. Hope your day goes well and you conquer the world. And of course, do stay in touch. …
The public is about to get its first look at the prices of drugs launched since President Trump struck his most-favored-nation deals with 17 drugmakers, STAT tells us. Those deals require companies to launch new drugs in the U.S. at net prices roughly equal to those in other wealthy nations, though precise terms are secret. Three medicines that are set to launch in the coming months will provide the most public view yet of the practical impacts of Trump’s dealmaking. The drugs are Baxfendy for hypertension from AstraZeneca, the insulin Awiqli from Novo Nordisk, and Veppanu, a cancer drug developed by Arvinas and Pfizer that is set to be licensed to Rigel Pharmaceuticals. Baxfendy and Veppanu are not yet available in other wealthy countries that are used as comparisons for reference pricing.
CVS Health will add Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound back to some of its formularies on Oct. 1 as an additional preferred option for insurance coverage, Reuters writes. Caremark, the CVS pharmacy benefit manager, last July had dropped the drug from its formularies, while continuing to reimburse Wegovy, a rival drug from Novo Nordisk, after negotiating a more favorable price. Caremark will also remove a so-called new-to-market block on Lilly’s recently launched weight loss pill, Foundayo, as of June 1, where the drug is approved for coverage by health plans. A new-to-market block is a policy used by insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to restrict coverage on newly approved drugs by the Food and Drug Administration.
