Faced With Competition From Generics, Pharma Companies Shift Tack To Marketing Pricey Drugs
The companies are moving from airing ads touting their products that help the broader public to ones that target rarer conditions. In other national news, AHIP and the CMS announce an agreement over quality measures for physicians, Pfizer will pay $784.6 million to settle an investigation over Medicaid charges, and employers are looking to mine data on their workers to help stem rising heath costs.
The Wall Street Journal:
New Drug Ads Tout Serious Conditions, Costly Treatments
TV audiences have grown accustomed to ads for treatments for erectile dysfunction, overactive bladder and a host of common or “lifestyle” conditions. But viewers of the Jan. 31 Fox broadcast of “Grease Live” caught a glimpse of the industry’s newest marketing tack: a clip promoting a lung-cancer drug. The spot is one of several hitting the airwaves for drugs treating serious, life-threatening conditions or those with relatively small patient populations—often expensive medicines prescribed by specialist doctors. For example, Opdivo costs about $12,500 a month for the average U.S. patient. (Loftus, 2/16)
The Associated Press:
A Step Forward For Measuring Health Care Quality
The government, doctors' groups, insurers and patient advocates say they're coming together on a common set of measurements for what constitutes quality health care. A collaborative representing the various players Tuesday released quality measures for seven broad areas: primary care, cardiology, digestive system, HIV and hepatitis C, medical oncology, orthopedics, and obstetrics and gynecology. (2/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer To Pay $785 Million To Settle Medicaid Claims
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. on Tuesday said it reached an agreement in principle to pay $784.6 million to settle a long-running U.S. government investigation of allegations that its Wyeth unit overcharged government Medicaid health programs for the heartburn drug Protonix. Pfizer said the agreement doesn’t include any admission of liability by Wyeth. The deal is subject to negotiation of a final agreement and court approval. A trial in the case had been scheduled to begin March 7 in federal court in Boston. (Loftus, 2/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Bosses Harness Big Data To Predict Which Workers Might Get Sick
Employee wellness firms and insurers are working with companies to mine data about the prescription drugs workers use, how they shop and even whether they vote, to predict their individual health needs and recommend treatments. Trying to stem rising health-care costs, some companies, including retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc., are paying firms like Castlight Healthcare Inc. to collect and crunch employee data to identify, for example, which workers are at risk for diabetes, and target them with personalized messages nudging them toward a doctor or services such as weight-loss programs. Companies say the goal is to get employees to improve their own health as a way to cut corporate health-care bills. (Silverman, 2/16)