Drugs

Drug Spending Up 8.5% Last Year: IMS

Total prescription drug spending in the U.S. reached $310 billion in 2015, up 8.5% from the previous year, according to a new report by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. “The savings from branded medicines facing generic competition were relatively low in 2015, and the impact of price increases on brands was limited due to higher rebates and price concessions from manufacturers,” the report says. “Specialty drug spending reached $121 billion on a net price basis, up more than 15 percent from 2014.

The report notes that the outlook for drug spending through 2020 is for mid-single digit growth, “driven by clusters of innovative treatments and offset by the rising impact of brands facing generic or biosimilar competition.” Total prescriptions dispensed in 2015 reached 4.4 billion, up 1% over last year. “Demand was higher in some therapy areas such as antidepressants and anti-diabetes, each of which increased about 10% in 2015,” it says. “Among those therapy areas that declined, narcotic drugs saw a 16.6% drop in the number of prescriptions dispensed.”

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton’s responses on vaccines, contraception and abortion medication during her 9/24 Senate confirmation hearing raise concerns that ideology could influence her decision-making if she takes over the agency, MSNBC senior medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said Friday. Gupta was particularly critical of Overton’

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton emerged from her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday (see earlier story) without resolving questions about whether she has enough Republican support to advance — and with a rapidly narrowing window for confirmation before the midterm elections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing provided few

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA has classified Boston Scientific's recall of its Imager II Angiographic Catheters as Class I because a manufacturing problem could cause catheter tips to degrade and detach, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications. The agency announced the Class I classification 9/25, updating an Early Alert it issued

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome