David Mitchell

Industry defenders will argue, “but Revlimid has competition.” Here’s @davidp4ad.bsky.social explaining why that’s not actually true.

One of several references on this point:
www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Texas child is first confirmed death in growing measles outbreak The unvaccinated school-age child is the first confirmed fatality in Texas’s worst measles outbreak in three decades.

RFK says, “we have measles outbreaks every year.” Not totally true. Back when vaccinations rates were higher, with fewer pockets of unvaccinated kids, we’d have around 60 mostly imported measles cases/yr. The cases were isolated and didn’t grow into outbreaks
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

a red warning light is lit up in front of a building . ALT: a red warning light is lit up in front of a building .

Buyer Beware: The American Action Forum is a subsidiary of the American Action Network which has received-are you sitting down-more than $27 million from pharma since 2010. When you see anything from @AAF or @AAN, remember it's all drug company propaganda bought and paid for.

Medicare's $2,000 prescription drug cap expected to bring major relief to cancer patients The new price cap, part of the Inflation Reduction Act, will apply to all prescription drugs covered by Medicare.

How do you spell relief? IRA—the Inflation Reduction Act’s $2,000 out-of-pocket cap kicks in today. Millions of patients on Medicare Part D will see big savings—especially cancer patients. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Drugmakers to raise US prices on over 250 medicines starting Jan. 1 Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 250 branded medications including Pfizer COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer cell therapies and vaccines from France's Sanofi at the start of 2025, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.

As always, like clockwork, drug companies raise prices on hundreds of drugs to start the new year. No justification. Just because they can. We let them. www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Novo Nordisk partners with Broad Institute spinout Photys after the startup's layoffs Novo Nordisk is exploring a new class of small molecule drugs that act as matchmakers between two proteins in partnership with a biotech startup called Photys Therapeutics. The companies will ...

Here's another drug company investing in small molecules. Must believe they can make money despite claims and complaints from pharma that 9 years before possible Medicare negotiation is not enough. endpts.com/novo-nordisk...

Medicare plans continue trend of restricting generic drugs A recent analysis reveals that Medicare Part D plans increasingly restrict generic drugs to higher-cost tiers.

This is why we need PBM reforms including those in the newly announced Continuing Resolution. PBMs do not work to give patients the best drugs at the lowest prices--too often they push the drugs that give them the greatest profits at the expense of patients. chaindrugreview.com/medicare-pla...

Pharma, life sciences execs ‘optimistic’ for 2025, eye regulatory concerns Three-quarters of pharma and life sciences executives said they were optimistic for 2025, even though they expect some level of business volatility.

Drug companies say reforms in the new drug price law harm investment & innovation. But a new survey contradicts those claims.
"3/4 of executives surveyed say they’re optimistic, driven by strong growth expectations, scientific innovation and precision medicine." www.mmm-online.com/news/pharma-...

This from Prof. Robin Feldman explains why we need to reform our patent laws and why S.150 addressing the abuse of patent thickets is such an important part of the CR now moving in Congress. yalelawandpolicy.org/patent-term-...

Drugmakers Paid PBMs Not to Restrict Opioid Prescriptions Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.

PBMs and drug companies BOTH prosper unethically in our current system; they both need reform because they don't put patients/consumers first. Instead they put profits first at the expense of patients' health and financial well-being.
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/b...

Big Pharma’s patent games extend their monopolies and block competition to keep drug prices high — costing patients, taxpayers and the U.S. health care system billions annually.
It’s time to pass Cornyn-Blumenthal to stop Big Pharma’s patent blockades and lower drug prices.
H/T CSRxP

Disappointing vote could mean higher prices for prescription drugs

Strong opposition by advocates to this bad bill made its passage out of committee a squeaker: 11-to-10. There was strong bipartisan opposition for good reason. We continue to fight it and oppose allowing it to come to Senate floor for a vote. pirg.org/updates/disa...

PhRMA is peddling crap. Study projecting higher costs for 8% of people on Medicare is bogus--absurdly assumes people on Medicare take 1 drug at a time when they fill about 5 Rxs/month. Doesn't reflect other IRA savings.
Facts: IRA delivering lower prices & oop, lower ave premiums, plenty of choice.

‘Patent Thicketing’ Keeps Prescriptions Unaffordable – DC Journal - InsideSources For millions of families, November means it’s time to focus on choosing a healthcare plan. For too many people and businesses, the rising cost of

Congress can take a key step to lower drug prices by passing the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. The Senate passed it unanimously. Now the House must act. It'll help patients, employers & employees. Thanks JamesGelfand for co-authoring.
dcjournal.com/patent-thick...