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Good afternoon! I'm Annika Kim Constantino and I cover the pharmaceutical and biotech industry for CNBC.com.
Three names in the industry – Johnson and Johnson, merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb – we face a few crucial weeks ahead.
The CEOs of those companies are scheduled to testify at a Senate hearing on high prescription drug prices in the US on February 8 at 10 a.m. ET, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Friday.
It took threats of subpoenas from the senator, but J&J CEO Joaquín Duato and Merck CEO Robert Davis agreed to testify after both executives rejected earlier requests to appear at the Senate HELP committee hearing. . They join Chris Boerner, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, who accepted the panel's initial invitation to appear.
Sanders hopes the hearing can bear some fruit for Americans, especially after Eli Lilly's CEO promised not to raise prices on the company's insulin products during a similar questioning the panel held in May.
But why is the committee targeting Merck, J&J and Bristol Myers Squibb in the first place? Sanders noted that the three companies make some of the most expensive drugs sold in the U.S.: Januvia, Merck's diabetes drug, Eliquis, Bristol Myers Squibb's blood thinner, and Stelara, J&J's immunosuppressant drug.
Is not wrong:
- The average retail price for a monthly supply of Januvia can range from $500 to $700 before insurance and other rebates.
- The retail price of Eliquis for a monthly supply is almost $600 before insurance.
- The retail price of a dose of Stelara taken every eight weeks is almost $25,500.
Those prices do not reflect the exact out-of-pocket costs for people with insurance.
Still, data from the Biden administration suggests that some seniors with Medicare Part D coverage still pay hundreds of dollars for those medications. On average, Medicare enrollees paid out of pocket $2,058 for Stelara, $441 for Eliquis and $270 for Januvia in 2022, according to an administration fact sheet.
That's why all three drugs will be subject to the first round of Medicare drug price negotiations, a key policy under the Inflation Reduction Act that aims to make expensive drugs more affordable for seniors. . J&J, Merck and Bristol Myers Squib are suing to stop the talks, which will set new prices that will take effect in 2026.
Those discussions will intensify Thursday, when Medicare will make initial price offers for each of the 10 drugs selected for negotiations.
Merck, J&J and Bristol Myers Squibb also face pressure for another reason: Billions of revenue will be at risk after some of their most successful drugs fall off a “patent cliff” in the coming years.
This refers to when a company's patents for one or more leading brand products expire, allowing competitors to sell imitations of those drugs, often at a lower price. That typically causes drug makers' revenue to fall and costs to drop for patients, who can access similar but more affordable drug options.
This weekend I delved into the patent cliffs and focused on some of the most important drugs whose patents are about to expire:
- Merck's Keytruda, an immunotherapy that treats melanoma, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, and certain other types of cancer.
- Bristol Myers Squibb's Opdivo is an immunotherapy used to treat cancers, including melanoma and lung cancer.
- Bristol Myers Squibb Eliquis
- J&J Stelara
“When you step back from all of this, reducing drug costs for patients and opening them up to a broader set of people is a great thing,” Mike Perrone, a biotech specialist at Baird, told CNBC. “So while it's a problem for these pharmaceutical companies, it's a help to the system and that's why it was created.”
The latest in health technology
I'm Ashley Capoot and I cover healthcare technology for CNBC.com.
Apple will reportedly explore health apps for Vision Pro headphones
It's a big week for Apple, as the company's highly anticipated mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, launches on Friday. The $3,500 headset is Apple's first big new product since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015 and The company has reportedly set its sights on healthcare as a growing market for this technology.
In a video to Apple employees earlier this month, executives said the headphones could “improve patient outcomes” and allow surgeons to look at screens during procedures, according to a Bloomberg report.
Many health systems are already using virtual and augmented reality headsets like Meta Quest 2 to train surgeons and treat patients, as CNBC reported in September. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, uses headsets in more than 160 facilities and in at least 40 different ways.
The question remains whether health systems will be willing to spend money on Apple's expensive new technology, or whether they will choose cheaper options like Meta's Quest 2, which starts at $250.
Testing a consumer-oriented Signs CGM
It's been a week since I started testing a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, from startup Signos. CGMs are small sensors often worn on the upper arm that track blood sugar levels. These devices are mainly used by people with diabetes as data can be sent wirelessly to a smartphone and help prevent emergencies.
The Signos CGM system is intended for the average consumer, so it is not intended for diabetes management. The startup has its own app that shows users how their bodies respond to specific foods, what causes their glucose to spike, and when they should exercise for the best weight loss results. I'm trying it for 30 days to see what I learn.
Since the CGM relies on a small sensor under the skin to get a reading, I was a little nervous putting the device on my arm. To my relief, the app was really easy and painless, and the Signs app walked me through all the steps to set it up.
I've been logging my meals, sleep, and exercise and completing a series of activities to learn how to interpret my data. I'll have more reports on this in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
Feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas, and facts to Annika at [email protected] and Ashley at [email protected].
