Biogen Inc. is pinning hopes on a decision on U.S. government coverage of the company’s Alzheimer’s disease drug during 2022 to help drive up Aduhelm’s usage, after a big miss on third-quarter 2021 sales of the much-awaited treatment.
Mirum Pharmaceuticals Inc. said on Sept. 29 the company’s drug became the first U.S. approved therapy for treating itching in patients with a rare liver disorder called Alagille syndrome (ALGS).
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted on Sept. 29 to approve three bills to stop practices drugmakers use to raise prices and fend off competition, including a bill to ban the tactic of paying generic companies to delay bringing cheaper versions of their medicines to market.
U.S.-based Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc.’s treatment for one of the most common forms of dwarfism received clearance from the European Commission, becoming the first therapy to get an approval in the region for achondroplasia.
The Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 23 approved Cara Therapeutics’ drug to treat moderate-to-severe itching in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, making Korsuva the first therapy for the ailment in the United States.
President Joe Biden on Aug. 12 called on U.S. lawmakers to enact legislation aimed at lowering drug prices, including allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and imposing penalties on drugmakers that hike prices faster than inflation.
The U.S. Veterans Health Administration will not include Aduhelm, the $56,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug made by Biogen Inc. and Eisai Co. Ltd., on the VHA’s list of approved products due to a lack of evidence that the medicine is effective as well as safety concerns, the agency said on Aug. 11.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform announced plans to investigate the approval and pricing of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s disease medicine Aduhelm (aducanumab), which has a list price of $56,000 per year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved expanded use of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Trikafta to treat cystic fibrosis in children aged 6 to 11 years old, making the cocktail therapy the first approved treatment for CF in that age group.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban – best known as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and an investor on the ABC business reality series “Shark Tank” – is diving into generic drugs with a new startup, dubbed Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company.