Prescription Drug Prices Up Again In 2020

Medicine tablets and capsules in containers

The increase in price of the brand name drugs most widely used by senior citizens was up 2.9% in 2020.  Although the increase is lower than the last couple of years, it’s still more than double the rate of inflation (currently at 1.3%) and some drugs remain exorbitantly and out of the range of affordability for many seniors.  USA Today recently ran a story on Lynn Carfuto, who has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a disease which is treatable but with a drug that costs $14K per month.  The drug has seen an 82% price increase since its release in 2013.  She can only afford it due to receiving grants from non-profits.  It’s a very sad case when you have a disease which is treatable but the price is so far out of reach.

 

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/usa-today-us-edition/20210610/282153589220534

Biden Lays Out Plan To Cut Drug Prices

President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order that aims at lowering drug prices, and it actually has teeth.  One provision is that the government can now take legal action against companies that collude to try and keep generic drugs from coming to market.  Another allows states and Indian tribes to import drugs from Canada.  He also directed the FDA’s parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, to issue proposed rules within 120 days to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter.  The four largest makers of hearing aides control 84% of the market.  Because they are so expensive, only 14% of the 48 million Americans suffering from hearing loss use the devices.  Still, some criticized the order because it doesn’t give Medicare the power to directly negotiate prices with drug companies.  “Negotiation of prices is the biggest and best solution,” to lowering drug prices, said Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, a nonprofit based in Washington D.C.

 

Monterey, CA Alzheimer’s Sufferers Get New Hope

According to a study which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Eli Lilly and Company’s experimental drug could slow the cognitive decline of those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  The downside, however, is that the drug is intravenous, not in a pill form.  An early clinical trial studied 257 with early signs of Alzheimer’s.  Of those, 131 received the drug and 126 received a placebo.  Researchers found that those who got the drug showed a slowing of cognitive decline and the ability to perform daily functions by 32% after 76 weeks, compared to those who received a placebo.   The study also looked at the build up of amyloid beta plaque and tau proteins, both of which are signs of Alzheimer’s disease.  At the 52-week mark in the Phase 2 Clinical Trial, almost 60% of participants who received the drug were amyloid-negative.  At week 76, amyloid plaque levels decreased by 85% in those taking the drug versus those who received the placebo.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away.  There are great people at our local chapter of Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan’s Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you need support at 800-272-3900.

Price Increase Is Higher Than Inflation For Many Drugs Covered By Medicare

President Joe Biden made a campaign promise to limit big pharma’s price increases on prescription drugs to no more than inflation—and now is the time to make good on that promise.  A new study found that half of all Part D-covered drugs had list price increases above inflation between 2018 and 2019, and the median list price was rose 6.4%, or 3.5x the rate of inflation.  List prices increased by 10% or more for 14% of all Part D-covered drugs during the same time period.  Another 36% had price increases above the price of inflation but below 10%.  Enough is enough!

https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/price-increases-continue-to-outpace-inflation-for-many-medicare-part-d-drugs/?utm_campaign=KFF-2021-The-Latest&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=109729367&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_AXZh_W4n-D3VWBrKFXA_-0CRmkqxJKKUBlsKb-Niya4Pm8n01_t5IeraBLE3Zpsy3RsZYHP36wk4qheGXbVKI1qPPUQ&utm_content=109729367&utm_source=hs_email

Monterey, CA New Hope For Alzheimer’s Drug

A senior woman sitting and looking out from the window

The Food & Drug Administration FDA is taking another look at aducanumab, a potential new drug for treating Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.  The drug candidate will undergo an additional three months of review after a panel of experts in November recommended against approving the drug.  Biogen and Eisai partnered on the development of the drug and delivered new data to the FDA, triggering the prolonged review time.  An independent committee of experts had criticism of both the drug’s merits and the interpretation of data by FDA scientists.  Biogen said the data from one clinical trial showed a slowing in cognitive decline compared to study participants who received a placebo.  In the second clinical trial, the drug failed to show a benefit.  However, Biogen says it is likely because fewer patients received the higher dosage.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away.  There are great people at our local chapter of Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan’s Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you need support at 800-272-3900.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-extends-review-of-biogen-eisais-alzheimers-drug-11611935425