STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about drug price hikes, Bayer strategic moves, and more

Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. Sadly, gray skies are hovering over the Pharmalot campus right now, but our spirits remain sunny, nonetheless. Why? We will draw on a bit of insight from the Morning Mayor, who taught us that “Every new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” To celebrate the notion, we are brewing still more cups of stimulation and invite you to join us. Remember, a prescription is not required. So no need to mess with rebates. Our choice today is crème brûlée. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest. Hope you have a smashing day and, of course, do stay in touch. …

Drug companies raised list prices on 775 brand-name drugs during the first half of January, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing the latest data from 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit analytics group. Prices rose by a median of 4.5%, though the prices of some drugs rose by around 10% or more. Among the notable increases: The price for Ozempic, a diabetes treatment that many people are taking to lose weight, went up by 3.5% to nearly $970 for a month’s supply. Mounjaro, a diabetes drug in the same class that is also widely used for weight loss, climbed 4.5% to almost $1,070 a month.

The Biden administration dropped an appeal of a court ruling that required health insurers to count copay assistance offered by drug companies toward patients’ out-of-pocket costs, STAT notes. At issue was copay accumulators, which do not count the value of copay assistance toward out-of-pocket drug costs applied to a patient’s deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. These are used by health plans to blunt the cost of medicines prescribed to their beneficiaries. Three patient groups sued the Trump administration over a rule that allowed insurers not to count copay assistance. But after the court ruling, the Biden administration appealed and said it was writing a new rule on the policy.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…