| | | |   | | | | | Wherefore art thou, drug pricing plan? Last week was the deadline for HHS to tell the White House which policies Medicare and Medicaid plan to test for lowering drug costs through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and a department spokesperson said to stay tuned for updates, my colleague John Wilkerson reports. “We’ll have more to share on this next week,” HHS’s Elizabeth Smalley said Friday. President Biden signed an executive order on Oct. 14 that gave HHS 90 days to come up with demonstration policies that complement the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which includes measures that cap seniors’ annual retail drug costs, limit annual price increases, and direct Medicare to negotiate prices several years after drugs have been on the market. | The FTC’s new philosophy  SAUL LOEB/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Democratic control of the FTC has brought a new era of regulation that could have major implications for pharmacy benefit managers, John explains. Chair Lina Khan has pushed against that the idea that consumers are the only ones who should be protected by regulators — smaller competitors could also be worthy of protection under the new philosophy. The shift could favor independent pharmacies, instead of those owned by PBMs. Congress could help them out with some reform of the PBM industry, too. Read the full analysis of the commission’s pivot. | Operation Warp Speed’s final chapter David Kessler, one of President Biden’s top Covid-19 response officials, is leaving the Biden administration this month, my co-author Sarah Owermohle reports. Despite being known for his prickly personality at times, he was one of Biden’s longest-tenured health advisers.
Kessler is a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner who played a leading role in developing and distributing vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 during “a transition from Operation Warp Speed to an Operation Warp Speed-like approach,” former NIAID director Anthony Fauci told STAT.
Kessler is leaving a White House Covid-19 response operation with little funding left. It’s unable to purchase medicines or help develop next-generation vaccines and treatments. | Apply for STAT Madness! Has your institution innovated in ways worth celebrating? Submit your application to be considered for our bracket-style tournament to find the best innovations in science and medicine here. | Medicare, beware In other drug pricing news, congressional Medicare advisers said that Medicare’s new drug price negotiation program could actually increase prices for some drugs, John reports. The changes to Medicare’s drug benefit could incentivize higher launch prices, and caps on patient costs could reduce the downside of charging higher prices for drugmakers. | What we’re reading -
US drugmakers withdraw from NHS pricing agreement as costs soar, Financial Times -
Some workers at U.S. hospital giant HCA say it puts profits above patient care, NBC News -
As Ginkgo stock sinks, CEO Jason Kelly tries to win over drugmakers in San Francisco, STAT -
California is the latest state to sue drugmakers and PBMs over insulin pricing, STAT | | | Thanks for reading! More on Thursday,  | |
No comments