Advertisement

We’re studying about drug costs, a Cigna plan for weight reduction medication


Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Prime of the morning to you. Grey skies are as soon as once more hovering over the soggy Pharmalot campus proper now, however our spirits stay sunny, nonetheless. Why? We are going to trot out a little bit of perception from the Morning Mayor, who would say “Each new day must be unwrapped like a valuable reward.” To rejoice the notion, we’re brewing nonetheless extra cups of stimulation and invite you to hitch us. Keep in mind, a prescription just isn’t required, so rebates don’t have to be negotiated. And you need to use money. Anyway, our alternative as we speak is strawberry creme. A beautiful alternative for these of you feeling adventurous. In the meantime, listed below are a couple of objects of curiosity. Hope you have got a smashing day and, after all, do keep in contact. As all the time, suggestions, criticism, and strategies are welcome. …

U.S. costs for newly launched prescription drugs greater than doubled final yr in comparison with 2021, as firms leveraged scientific advances to develop extra therapies for uncommon ailments, which usually command excessive costs, a Reuters evaluation discovered. The median annual record value for a brand new drug was over $370,000 in 2024, based on the Reuters survey of 45 medicines. In 2021, the median value was $180,000 for the 30 medication first marketed by mid-July, based on a research revealed in JAMA. The median launch value was $300,000 in 2023 and $222,000 in 2022. The share of medicine launched for orphan ailments, that means they have an effect on fewer than 200,000 People, rose to 72% in 2024 from 51% in 2019, based on the Iqvia Institute for Human Knowledge Science. Over 40% of the orphan launches had been for oncology.

5 years after launching, a singular nonprofit drug firm has revealed knowledge exhibiting that customers and well being plans saved appreciable cash on a generic most cancers medication due to its “clear” pricing mannequin. And it maintains that the findings validate plans to distribute and — finally — manufacture nonetheless extra copycat medicines for the U.S. market, STAT explains. The corporate — CivicaScript — was created as a automobile to fight stubbornly excessive drug costs even after dominant brand-name medicines misplaced patent safety and generic rivals entered the market. Backed largely by 18 Blue Cross Blue Defend plans, the nonprofit made its first drug accessible — a generic model of the Zytiga prostate most cancers therapy — in August 2022. The preliminary wholesale value was $160, plus an $11 shelling out payment paid to pharmacies, however uptake was sluggish till it was accepted by pharmacy profit managers and different well being plans. Finally, the gambit labored: Between September and December 2023, sufferers saved 64% and payers saved 92% by buying the generic distributed by CivicaScript.

STAT+ Unique Story

STAT+





This text is unique to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this text — plus in-depth evaluation, newsletters, premium occasions, and information alerts.

Have already got an account? Log in

View All Plans

To learn the remainder of this story subscribe to STAT+.

Subscribe