The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative antitrust complaint against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts (Cigna), and OptumRx (UnitedHealth)—and their affiliated group purchasing organizations, charging them with anticompetitive and unfair practices …
Federal Trade CommissionLina KhanCVS CaremarkExpress ScriptsOptumRx+3 morehealthcarepbmpharmacyantitrustftc+3 more
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a historic hearing bringing together CEOs of major insulin manufacturers (Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi) and executives from the three largest PBMs (CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, OptumRx) to examine soaring insulin prices. …
Bernie SandersSenate HELP CommitteeLars Fruergaard JorgensenPaul HudsonHeather Cianfrocco+6 morehealthcarepbmpharmacyinsulindrug-pricing+2 more
AbbVie reached settlement agreements with eight biosimilar manufacturers that allowed immediate biosimilar competition in Europe starting October 16, 2018, but delayed all US market entry until 2023—seven years after Humira’s original patent expired in December 2016. The settlements ended …
AbbVieAmgenSamsung BioepisMylanBoehringer Ingelheim+3 morepharmaceutical-industrypatent-abusedrug-pricinghealthcareevergreening+2 more
Johns Hopkins researchers published findings demonstrating that pharmaceutical companies were systematically gaming the 1983 Orphan Drug Act by obtaining orphan drug designations—intended for treatments of rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans—for blockbuster drugs generating billions …
Johns Hopkins UniversityFDAAbbVieRocheJohnson & Johnson+4 morepharmaceutical-industryregulatory-capturetax-avoidancedrug-pricinghealthcare+2 more
Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ October 2015 disclosure of its relationship with specialty pharmacy Philidor Rx Services triggered the unraveling of a systematic drug price gouging scheme that had raised prices on dozens of medications by 50-3000% over two years. Under CEO Michael Pearson, Valeant …
Valeant PharmaceuticalsJ. Michael PearsonPhilidor Rx ServicesWilliam AckmanSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)+2 morepharmaceutical-industrydrug-pricinghealthcarecorporate-fraudsystematic-corruption+1 more
The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 in FTC v. Actavis that the Federal Trade Commission could bring antitrust challenges against “pay-for-delay” agreements where brand-name drug manufacturers pay generic competitors to delay bringing cheaper alternatives to market. The decision reversed lower …
Supreme Court of the United StatesFederal Trade CommissionSolvay PharmaceuticalsActavisWatson Pharmaceuticals+1 morepharmaceutical-industrypatent-abuseregulatory-captureantitrustsupreme-court+2 more
Questcor Pharmaceuticals implemented an overnight price increase for H.P. Acthar Gel from $1,600 to $23,000 per vial on August 27, 2007, launching a decade-long price gouging scheme that would eventually raise the drug’s price by 97,000% from its 2001 level. Questcor had acquired Acthar—a …
Questcor PharmaceuticalsMallinckrodtFederal Trade CommissionHumanaCongress+1 morepharmaceutical-industrydrug-pricinghealthcarecorporate-fraudbribery+2 more
The average price of insulin in the United States began a decade-long tripling from $231 per patient annually in 2002 to $762 in 2013, according to congressional hearing data—with some patients paying up to $900 per month for insulin products that cost $4.34 per milliliter in 2002 but reached $12.92 …
Eli LillyNovo NordiskSanofiCongressional Diabetes CaucusBig Pharmapharmaceutical-industrydrug-pricinghealthcaremonopolyinsulin-crisis+1 more