Drugmakers’ Patents And Unique Role In Setting US Prices Contributes To Soaring Costs, Study Finds
Researchers examine thousands of studies to determine why prices for medications have climbed and what might be done about it.
Kaiser Health News:
Government-Protected ‘Monopolies’ Drive Drug Prices Higher, Study Says
The “most important factor” that drives prescription drug prices higher in the United States than anywhere else in the world is the existence of government-protected “monopoly” rights for drug manufacturers, researchers at Harvard Medical School report today. The researchers reviewed thousands of studies published from January 2005 through July 2016 in an attempt to simplify and explain what has caused America’s drug price crisis and how to solve it. They found that the problem has deep and complicated roots and published their findings in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association. (Lupkin, 8/23)
Bloomberg:
The Real Reason Drugs Cost Too Much
The Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Patent Office together give new drugs monopoly rights that last anywhere from eight and a half to 15-plus years. This helps explain why brand-name drugs account for 72 percent of drug spending in the U.S. even though they represent only 10 percent of prescriptions. Since 2008, prices for the most commonly used branded drugs have risen 164 percent -- far faster than other medical costs. The U.S. spends more than twice what other industrialized countries spend on drugs. (8/23)
ProPublica:
Drug And Device Makers Pay Thousands Of Docs With Disciplinary Records
Pharmaceutical and medical device companies are continuing to pay doctors as promotional speakers and expert advisers even after they’ve been disciplined for serious misconduct, according to an analysis by ProPublica. One such company is medical device maker Stryker Corp. In June 2015, New York’s Board for Professional Medical Conduct accused orthopedic surgeon Alexios Apazidis of improperly prescribing pain medications to 28 of his patients. The board fined him $50,000 and placed him on three years’ probation, requiring that a monitor keep an eye on his practice. Despite this, Stryker paid Apazidis more than $14,000 in consulting fees, plus travel expenses, in the last half of 2015. (Huseman, 8/23)