STAT+: Pharmalittle: Opaque conflicts permeate prescription drug benefits; Sanofi prevails in Zantac arbitration
A largely hidden flow of money between major consultants and PBMs can lead to excessive drug spending by employers and their workers.
Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. We can tell by the number of people walking past and cars whizzing by the Pharmalot campus this morning. These are among our usual proxies for gauging the state of the world outside our window. All of this is to say there is much to do. So time to get cracking. We are firing up the coffee kettle and brewing a cup of stimulation — salted caramel mocha is the choice right now — and digging out the to-do list. We trust you relate. Meanwhile, we hope you have a productive and meaningful day. And please do keep in touch if you hear something unusual or exciting. …
Employers across the U.S. pay consulting firms to handle a straightforward task with prescription drug coverage: Get the best deals possible, and make sure pharmacy benefit managers do not rip them off with unfair contracts. But a largely hidden flow of money between major consultants and PBMs compromises the relationship, STAT reports. Some consulting firms often are paid more by the PBMs and health insurers they are supposed to scrutinize than by the companies they are supposed to help. The consequences can lead to excessive drug spending by employers, which can translate into less money for employees through stagnant salaries or diluted medical benefits.
The International Chamber of Commerce rejected a claim by Boehringer Ingelheim that it should be indemnified by Sanofi from lawsuits filed in the U.S. that linked the Zantac heartburn drug to cancer, Reuters writes. The decision cannot be appealed. Thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming Zantac causes cancer have been disputed by drugmakers that have sold either the branded or generic version of the drug since it was initially approved in 1983. Sanofi and Boehringer sought arbitration to determine whether liability in lawsuits was transferred to Sanofi after it acquired the marketing rights from Boehringer in a 2017 deal.
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