Hospitals balk as CMS doubles down on price transparency

The draft rule released by CMS Monday would also create a new billing code for CAR-T cancer therapies, which hospitals often lose money on. 

By Shannon Muchmore • May 12, 2020

Pharmas boosted by drug stockpiling, but warn of COVID-19 impact

Patients and wholesalers stocked up on medicines early in 2020, lifting first-quarter sales for many pharmas. But that boost is likely fleeting, disguising the substantial effects the pandemic is having on their businesses.

By Ned Pagliarulo • April 28, 2020

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Commercialization

New drugs for obesity are becoming blockbusters, while Trump administration pressure is reshaping pharma marketing strategies ahead of looming patent cliffs.

By BioPharma Dive staff

Launch for Neurocrine Parkinson's drug put on hold because of coronavirus

CEO Kevin Gorman told BioPharma Dive it's an inappropriate time to be pitching the drug to neurology doctors, many of who are devoting time to hospitals grappling with COVID-19 cases.

By Jacob Bell • Updated April 27, 2020

COVID-19's impact on pharma marketing

With stay-at-home conditions in effect across most of the country, pharmaceutical marketers are trying to decide how to best manage their marketing investments.

April 23, 2020

Could the coronavirus slow a decades-long shift to value-based care?

As providers struggle with an influx of emergency patients, analysts think they will likely focus on recouping revenue rather than putting more dollars at risk.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 15, 2020

Merck, Samsung join newly crowded market for Herceptin biosimilars

Ontruzant, which will be sold by Merck, is the fifth copycat version of Roche's top-selling breast cancer drug to launch in the U.S.

By Kristin Jensen • April 15, 2020

Doctors say COVID-19 has lowered patient volumes, made finances shaky

A survey of doctors by Piper Sandler found physician practices are deeply impacted by the pandemic, with patient visits down by nearly two-thirds.

By Ron Shinkman • April 13, 2020

Myriad Genetics pulls sales forecast as coronavirus disrupts operations

In response to the spread of COVID-19, Myriad has ended in-office sales calls and begun to collect testing samples directly from patients. 

By Kristin Jensen • April 8, 2020

Amarin shares slump as surprising court defeat puts Vascepa at risk

In what one analyst called a "serious blow," a federal court ruled patents held by Amarin on its heart drug Vascepa were obvious and therefore invalid. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • March 31, 2020

Bristol Myers investors breathe easier as multiple sclerosis drug approved by FDA

Regulatory clearance for Zeposia is the first of three drug approval milestones that must be met for former Celgene shareholders to see the full value of the 2019 acquisition.

By Jonathan Gardner • March 26, 2020

Coronavirus forces ASCO, cancer research's top meeting, to move online

State governments, including ASCO's host state of Illinois, are calling for residents to stay home, making the prospect of holding a meeting that draws thousands untenable.

By Ned Pagliarulo • March 24, 2020

Pharma salesforces brought to a halt as coronavirus shutters economy

Coronavirus' spread, and the measures taken by states and cities to contain it, are forcing drugmakers like Amarin, Pfizer and Merck & Co. to pull back their sales teams from hospitals and doctors' offices.

By Ned Pagliarulo • March 17, 2020

Medicare will now cover telehealth to fight coronavirus

It's a move telemedicine companies like Teladoc and American Well have requested since well before the outbreak, but the change will only last through the national emergency designation. 

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 17, 2020

Televangelist Bakker, companies warned by FDA, FTC on fraudulent coronavirus claims

Bakker's company is among seven targeted by U.S. government for misleading consumers by promoting unproven products as treatments for COVID-19.

By Kristin Jensen • March 11, 2020

Pfizer, Amgen, Lilly spent most to lobby Congress, study finds

Spending by the industry ramped up at key times, including around the 2016 presidential election and just before the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

By Kristin Jensen • March 4, 2020

Patient group pushes Trump-backed drug pricing bill

A new national TV ad campaign from Patients For Affordable Drugs urges Congress to pass a bipartisan bill from the Senate Finance Committee. 

By Kristin Jensen • Feb. 26, 2020

Esperion adds more competition to cholesterol drug market

Following an FDA approval Friday, Esperion intends to sell bempedoic acid under the brand name Nexletol for a price of about $10 per day.

By Jacob Bell • Feb. 21, 2020

Bluebird's gene therapy hits another delay, this time in the US

The disclosure of a longer timeline until the biotech fully submits LentiGlobin for U.S. approval sent shares sliding and spurred one analyst to downgrade the stock.

By Jacob Bell • Feb. 19, 2020

Biotech executives, having pledged fair pricing, criticize drugmaker for steep hike

Belcher Pharmaceuticals priced its new injectable drug at nearly $10,000, spurring pushback from a group of leading biotech executives behind a recently published "industry commitment."

By Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 19, 2020

Akebia locks down control over partner's new regulatory fast pass

For $10 million, Akebia gained access to Vifor Pharma's newly acquired Priority Review Voucher, which could narrow the gap between its drug and a closer-to-market rival from AstraZeneca and Fibrogen.

By Jacob Bell • Feb. 18, 2020

Coronavirus weighs on AstraZeneca's China expansion

The British drugmaker cautioned the disease outbreak could impact its sales in the country, where restrictions on travel and commerce have been imposed to contain the virus' spread.

By Jonathan Gardner • Feb. 14, 2020

Gilead launches ad campaign for key HIV drug

The drugmaker is working to expand PrEP use of Descovy as its older option Truvada loses patent protection later this year. 

By Kristen Jensen • Feb. 12, 2020

Are Novartis and Regeneron seeing the same thing?

Both companies are touting the success of their competing eye drugs. But as the market crowds, it's likely they'll bump into problems.

By Jacob Bell • Feb. 7, 2020

AbbVie's plan to replace Humira is ahead of schedule

Sales of Skyrizi and Rinvoq, AbbVie's two new immunology drugs, jumped higher in the fourth quarter, leading the pharma to raise its 2020 forecasts for them by more than two-thirds. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 7, 2020

Biogen boosted as Mylan patent challenge fails

A patent court determined all 20 claims in a key Tecfidera patent are patentable, providing some near-term relief to Biogen and its top-seller. 

By Jacob Bell • Feb. 5, 2020