drugs
Cabinet begins to tackle prescription costs
CT’s Health Care Cabinet began drilling down into rising prescription drug costs and state options to stem the rise. We heard from Ameet Sarpatwari, consultant to NASHP on their report for states, and Tom Brownlie of Pfizer and Jenny Bryant of PhRMA. Dr. Sarpatwari outlined high US spending on drugs and the consequences for consumers’…
Read MoreFDA panel barely approves new antibiotic for pneumonia
Friday, the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drug Advisory Committee split 7 to 6, to approve Solithromycin, a new drug for community-acquired pneumonia. Pneumonia is responsible for 4.5 million ambulatory visits. About half of bacteria causing pneumonia in the US are now resistant to the best current treatment option. The committee agreed that the drug was proven effective,…
Read MoreCSG-ERC brief on VT’s drug price transparency law
In recent years drug costs have grown far faster than other health care services, last year growing 8.1% compared to overall health spending growth of 4.8%. Forty five new drugs were approved in the US last year, up from 41 the year before and 27 in 2013. Those increases are straining government budgets, squeezing out…
Read MoreDifferent polls, different questions – but people are worried about health care
A new poll, Inform CT Consumer Confidence Survey, finds that almost two thirds of CT residents are worried about health insurance affordability, up 12% in the last year. A new Gallup poll found that Americans’ perceptions of the health care and drug industries are the lowest among all sectors except the federal government. That means…
Read MoreCSG-ERC annual meeting in Quebec: States seek relief from rising prescription drug costs
The rising cost of health care is hitting hard across North America, both in houses of government and at home, around the kitchen table, where the cost of vital prescription drugs can too often make or break a household budget. From 2001 to 2011, health care spending by states jumped a staggering $5.1 billion across…
Read MoreCT teaching hospitals received $8.3 million from drug and device manufacturers last year
New data shows that nineteen teaching hospitals and 11,016 physicians in CT received payments from drug and device manufacturers last year. Open Payments, the searchable federal data source, was created by the Affordable Care Act which requires that drug and device manufacturers disclose payments to physicians and teaching hospitals. While every CT hospital received some…
Read MoreFDA committee split on benefits of C. difficile treatment
Last week, the FDA’s Antimicrobial Advisory Committee drilled deep into evidence on the safety and effectiveness of Bezlotoxumab, a drug intended to reduce recurrence of C. difficle infections. The evidence was extensive – slides with data tables and charts numbered at least 1,855. Half a million Americans suffered from serious C. diff infections and 29,000…
Read MoreDrug forum looks for state options to control costs
Yesterday’s forum on rising drug costs at the Capitol included the expected messages from the expected sources but the real news was in the second panel that offered solutions. The CT State Medical Society and the State Comptroller’s Office sponsored the forum. Dr. Jacobs, President of CSMS, laid out the problem. One medication that supports…
Read MoreFDA flu vaccine meeting – lots of smart people doing important work, tons of wonk fun
Today’s FDA meeting to vote on what subtypes next year’s flu vaccine will include was fascinating. As more than one participant said, our heads hurt by 10am. There is a lot of work by people all over the globe that goes into figuring out what nature has planned nine months from now. (An important example…
Read MoreAfter moving public testimony, FDA committee advises stronger warnings on fluroquninolons
Last Thursday two FDA Advisory Committees heard hours of moving public testimony on Fluoroquinolon—Associated Disability (FQAD). We also heard doubts about the effectiveness of this class of antibiotics that is prescribed over 30 million times in the US each year. FQs were first approved by the FDA many decades ago, before better effectiveness tests. New…
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