The Business of Diabetes: How The PBM Insulin Scheme Is Poised to Be Disrupted by Civica Rx
So, with this week ' s news focused on other areas (like the Supreme Court), I thought it might be appropriate to focus on something which is still very broken, yet seems poised to be resolved by good old fashioned market forces: insulin prices.The U.S. " market " for insulin is bedeviled by the same problem that causes all U.S. prescription drug prices to be so high: Pharmacy Benefit Managers ( " PBM ' s " ) are manipulating prescription drug discounting behind-the-scenes in order to enrich themselves at everyone else ' s expense. Most discounts PBM ' s collect come in the form of cash rebates, which are paid by pharmaceu...
Source: Scott's Web Log - May 4, 2022 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2022 biogenerics Biosimilar biosimilars Civica Rx CivicaRx insulin insulin analogs Lilly Novo Nordisk PBM Sanofi Source Type: blogs
How to Navigate Life with a Chronic Disease Like T1D and High-Deductible Insurance - Redux
Last February (2021), I wrote a blog post called " How to Navigate Life with a Chronic Disease Like T1D and High-Deductible Insurance Plans " (read my post athttps://blog.sstrumello.com/2021/02/how-to-navigate-life-with-chronic.html for details).I still stand by all of the recommendations I made in that blog post because I actually used (and still use some) the methods described effectively and saved a lot of money by doing so. But times change, and sometimes strategies need to evolve with changes that happen in the world around us.Intro of " Authorized Generic " Insulins, plus Branded/Unbranded BiosimilarsFor example, in ...
Source: Scott's Web Log - April 7, 2022 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2022 high-deductible insurance plans insulin Source Type: blogs
The ongoing saga with the UC Health Insurance Pharmacy " Benefits " Via Navitus
Well the saga continues. Here is an update. It all started March 7. See here for a long thread and also responses.Dear@UofCalifornia@ucdavisThis is NOT OK.I just got a notice by letter in mail that my insurance will no longer cover the insulin I have been getting " as of January 1, 2022 " . Letter was dated in February and was received after March 1, 2022.This is NOT OK.— Jonathan Eisen (@phylogenomics)March 7, 2022 See this thread in an easier to read format here:https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1500934973775249412.htmlWell, in case you missed it. Two weeks ago I posted about the disastrous and dangerous and incompete...
Source: The Tree of Life - March 29, 2022 Category: Microbiology Source Type: blogs
My Recent Podcast on " The Diabetes Way "
A frequent complaint about U.S. prescription drug prices is it is difficult to explain WHY the prices here are so high. A frequent pharma answer to the question WHY is this happening is " it ' s complicated " . They aren ' t kidding. it IS complicated. But today, there are tools on the internet which can help many people navigate the dysfunctional U.S. system without being taken to the cleaners. I recently did a podcast about that which might be worth listening to. But it ' s helpful to understand how I became the guy the podcasters wanted to interview about the subject.Back in September 2021, I was invited as a guest to s...
Source: Scott's Web Log - March 23, 2022 Category: Endocrinology Tags: David Kliff 2022 Amber Clour coupons podcast prescriptions rebates Rx The Diabetes Way Source Type: blogs
Civica Rx: We're Entering the U.S. Insulin Biosimilar Business!
This morning, I woke up and unplugged my phone from its charger, and went to close Twitter (which I forgot to close last night before I went to bed) and at the top was a press release from Civica Rx. The press release is here: Civica to Manufacture and Distribute Affordable Insulinhttp://dlvr.it/SL0QZV The news was greeted as a welcome development by JDRF, Beyond Type 1 and the Helmsley Charitable Trust to name a few. The ADA said nothing formally about it as of 10:00 AM. In essence, Civica Rx says it plans to sell biosimilar versions of Lantus, Humalog and Novolog. As usual, there ' s a lot of details unpack her...
Source: Scott's Web Log - March 3, 2022 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2022 Biocon Biosimilar biosimilars Civica Rx CivicaRx insulin Viatris Source Type: blogs
Novo Nordisk Takes a Hit on China Insulin Price Reductions
Last week, stock prices of two global insulin-manufacturers (Novo Nordisk and Lilly, but Novo Nordisk suffered far more than Lilly did) took a hit on news related to their Chinese operations (seehttps://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma-asia/novo-nordisk-sanofi-eli-lilly-cut-insulin-price-china-s-latest-vbp-off-patent-drugs ANDhttps://endpts.com/china-boasts-48-price-cut-on-insulin-as-domestic-drugmakers-eclipse-big-pharma-in-bulk-order/ for more). Inclusion in China ' s National Reimbursement Drugs List requires volume-based procurement (VBP) discounts. Chinese sales have enabled a number of drug companies to pump-up their sale...
Source: Scott's Web Log - December 6, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Source Type: blogs
Why Biosimilar Makers (incl. Insulin) Must Sell 2 Versions of their Copy-Cat Meds in USA
Recall that Adam Fein, who writes the Drug Channels blog, recently documented (seeHERE for details) that Viatris (fka Mylan) and its biotech co-development partner Biocon, recently revealed that in spite of earning the FDA " interchangeable " designation for the insulin biosimilar of Sanofi ' s Lantus for the product Viatris branded Semglee that they would be using prescription drug rebates needed to bribe, errr ... secure PBM formulary placement. They willoffer both a branded and un-branded version ... of a biosimilar. That ' s weird. FiercePharma documented the curious necessity for biosimilar makers to sell two ver...
Source: Scott's Web Log - November 21, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Biocon coupon-generating websites apps formulary PBM Viatris Walgreens Source Type: blogs
Some Key EASD News for T1D
This week, the European rival to the ADA Scientific Sessions known as EASD (which stands for the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) held its annual meeting, which was the organization ' s 57th Annual Meeting and it took place virtually (much like the ADA Scientific Sessions did this year) due to COVID-19. EASD was held from September 27, 2021 to October 1, 2021. In recent years, neither the ADA Scientific Sessions not the EASD Meetings have yielded many surprise findings or previously unknown product launches.My short summary is that Novo Nordisk is finally getting on the " smart pen " cap bandwagon, while riv...
Source: Scott's Web Log - October 1, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2021 Bigfoot Unity Companion Medical EASD FTC insulin prices Lilly Medtronic diabetes Novo Nordisk rebate reform Smart Pen Caps Smart Pens Source Type: blogs
U.S. Patients Need U.S. FTC to Do More to Bring Rx Drug Prices Down to Earth
For a moment, try to answer the following question honestly:When are biosimilar insulins, even those which are designated by the FDA as " interchangable " with the innovator, MORE EXPENSIVE than the originator molecule the biosimilar is supposed to be a copy of? The correct answer is when a person with diabetes lives in the United States. It defies logic!In theory, the biosimilars should be cheaper because the work of developing, conducting clinical trials and whatnot is not the same to make a copy. The biosimilar doesn ' t have to go through the same process of conducting extensive three phases of clinical trial...
Source: Scott's Web Log - September 15, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Federal Trade Commission FTC PBM rebate reform rebates Source Type: blogs
U.S. Patients Need U.S. FTC to Do More to Bring Rx Drug Prices Down to Earth
For a moment, try to answer the following question honestly:When are biosimilar insulins, even those which are designated by the FDA as " interchangeable " with the innovator, MORE EXPENSIVE than the originator molecule the biosimilar is supposed to be a copy of? The correct answer is when a person with diabetes lives in the United States. It defies logic!In theory, the biosimilars should be cheaper because the work of developing, conducting clinical trials and whatnot is not the same to make a copy. The biosimilar doesn ' t have to go through the same process of conducting extensive three phases of clinical tria...
Source: Scott's Web Log - September 15, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Biosimilar biosimilars Federal Trade Commission FTC PBM rebate reform rebates Source Type: blogs
Coupons, PBM's ... oh my!
Over the past few years, my coverage of coupon-generating websites/apps has increased by a lot in this blog because those have emerged as a critical way for patients to get prescriptions at lower, PBM-negotiated prices even if they have yet to satisfy an annual insurance deductible or they have no insurance at all. In general, coupon-generating websites/apps offer consumers access to the deeper pharmacy benefits manager ( " PBM " )-negotiated prices on prescription drugs, at prices which are often substantially less than the prices you could otherwise attain as a consumer without the benefit of a commercial healthcare...
Source: Scott's Web Log - September 1, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: CGM CGMS coupon-generating websites apps Dexcom insulin Libre PBM test strips Source Type: blogs
Coupons, PBM's ... oh my!
Over the past few years, my coverage of coupon-generating websites/apps has increased by a lot in this blog because those have emerged as a critical way for patients to get prescriptions at lower, PBM-negotiated prices even if they have yet to satisfy an annual insurance deductible or they have no insurance at all. In general, coupon-generating websites/apps offer consumers access to the deeper pharmacy benefits manager ( " PBM " )-negotiated prices on prescription drugs, at prices which are often substantially less than the prices you could otherwise attain as a consumer without the benefit of a commercial healthcare...
Source: Scott's Web Log - September 1, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: CGM CGMS coupon-generating websites apps Dexcom insulin Libre PBM test strips Source Type: blogs
Making Sense of the Novo Nordisk-Walmart Partnership to Sell Some Discounted Insulin Analogues
On June 29, 2021, Walmart Inc. and the American business unit of Novo Nordisk A/S (which is based just outside of Princeton, New Jersey known as Novo Nordisk Inc.) dropped what was intended to be a news bombshell coming just as the ADA Scientific Sessions was coming to a close. In fact, the insulin makers had hardly any big news coming from the ADA Scientific Sessions themselves this year (in fact, Novo Nordiskacquired a UK-based company known as Ziylo in 2018 to use its technology to try and develop glucose-responsive insulin, but it still has a long while before it is ready for commercialization ... if ever), becaus...
Source: Scott's Web Log - July 15, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Aspart Novo Nordisk Novolog Walmart Source Type: blogs
Making Sense of the Novo Nordisk-Walmart Partnership to Sell Some Discounted Insulin Analogues
On June 29, 2021, Walmart Inc. and the American business unit of Novo Nordisk A/S (which is based just outside of Princeton, New Jersey known as Novo Nordisk Inc.) dropped what was intended to be a news bombshell coming just as the ADA Scientific Sessions was coming to a close. In fact, the insulin makers had hardly any big news coming from the ADA Scientific Sessions themselves this year or for the past several years (about the biggest news was from 2018 when, Novo Nordiskacquired a UK-based company known as Ziylo to use its technology to try and develop glucose-responsive insulin, but that still has a long whil...
Source: Scott's Web Log - July 15, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Aspart Novo Nordisk Novolog Walmart Source Type: blogs
How to Navigate Life with a Chronic Disease Like T1D and High-Deductible Insurance Plans
Conclusion:So, this is a method to survive a high-deductible insurance plan without breaking the bank. I have done it, so I know it works. Keep in mind: insurance companies feel entitled to screw patients (you are not their customer, your employer is). Don ' t let them do it to you! (Source: Scott's Web Log)
Source: Scott's Web Log - February 8, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2021 high-deductible insurance plans insulin rebates test strips Source Type: blogs
