The US Senate’s vote this past weekend to proceed with debate on a legislative proposal for healthcare reform portends—what by all accounts—promises to be yet another rigorous round of policy and political opinion. A Google search for the past week alone shows that almost 500,000 blogs (459,049 at the time of posting of this blog) have been posted in response to the Senate’s action to move forward with considering healthcare reform. In the swirl of this public opinion, where does the pharmaceutical industry stand? Read more »

After much ado, the US House of Representatives passed a healthcare-reform bill this weekend. Drugmakers and commentators are understandably eager to parse the bill to find out what it would mean for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. So what’s the verdict? Read more »

Following President Barak Obama’s address on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress this week, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries reiterated their overall support for healthcare reform. Although not commenting in detail on specific measures offered by the President or Congressional proposals, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries will be important players in the upcoming weeks and months as the final proposals for healthcare reform materialize. Read more »

As Congress prepares to reconvene next week, healthcare reform will be the number one item on the policy agenda. The White House announced this week that President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress, next Wednesday, Sept. 9. His speech, perhaps signaling more direct involvement by the President in proposals to revamp the country’s healthcare system, represents a critical juncture in the healthcare debate and yet-to-be determined implications for the pharmaceutical industry. Read more »

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has won the latest battle over follow-on biologics. Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved Rep. Anna Eshoo’s (D-CA) amendment to the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200). The Eshoo amendment, a regulatory pathway for the approval of biosimilars, would grant about 12 years of market exclusivity to each new biological medicine. Read more »

Congress has taken up the Obama administration’s goal of making healthcare more affordable by introducing various strategies for reducing the cost of prescription drugs. But the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) have resisted several of Congress’s initiatives, and cost control has been elusive so far. Read more »

This month, lawmakers such as Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced a flurry of healthcare-reform bills that provide for comparative-effectiveness (CE) research. Supporters of CE research say that it could cut unnecessary costs by identifying the treatments that produce the best results. Federal and state governments’ share of the national healthcare bill could consequently be lighter, yet critics fear that promoting CE research could give the government too much power over treatment. Read more »

President Obama’s plan for lowering the cost of healthcare relies partly on ensuring that affordable generic drugs are available to patients. This strategy is not likely to be palatable to innovator companies, who have tried various ways of delaying generic drugs’ introduction to the market. Read more »

The wait may soon be over for US Food and Drug Administration employees wondering who their new boss will be. President Obama is expected to introduce Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas today as his new nominee for secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Read more »

Many state legislatures are looking for ways to keep their healthcare costs down. Given our difficult economy, attempts at fiscal prudence do not come as a surprise. What’s heartening is that many states’ bills draw a link between healthcare expenses and doctor–patient confidentiality. Read more »