Apropos of the power player presentation last week of the pharmaceutical industry -- I would strongly recommend that if you want to get additional insight into how Big Pharma works take a look at Marcia Angell’s “The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It.” Though the title makes it seem like a bit of a polemic, it offers a fairly objective assessment of Big Pharma’s business model, as well as a great legislative and organizational history that has led up to it’s current state. Dr. Angell is a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, and writes in a clear, objective, and engaging style. It gives a great rundown of marketing tactics, lobbying weights, and development processes in the pharmaceutical companies. Moreover, she offers some very excellent suggestions about how to reform the industry (removing DTC advertising, limiting patent extensions, and others).
If you're too taxed to, you know, read - check out her interview talking about the book on NPR here, and a nice rebuttal by the drug industry here.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday's Times: The Bailout
I just read an article in the NYT about the bailout and I was left feeling a little bit uneasy about it. Apparently, Congress is supposed to draft a bill in regards to the bailout by tomorrow and put it on the House floor. At this point, I'm not sure how possible it is for a bill of this sort to pass considering all of the conflicting viewpoints within the "elite"(government officials). Recalling an article from health policy class (for anyone in it), it is extremely complex to get through this so called "legislative maze" in order to get a bill passed. I'm also skeptical about the bailout being the absolute last resort to save our economy. It could be possible that the media is framing the issue of the bailout as the last resort just to increases the chances of passing the bill. The public will probably be targeted by the media seeing that Congress aknowledges public opinion when making decisions.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
“Ground gain minimal. Casualties huge. Conclusion — press on.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/health/06avastin.html?pagewanted=1
This morning I stumbled on an article that is a few months old but really lays out the enormous complexity of new drug development and its effects on patients. In this case, the article focuses on a relatively new cancer drug that has been shown to prolong patient life for several months. Although the clinical results have not been conclusive on this drug's benefit and the price tag is huge, most oncologists and patients, faced with desperate situations, rely on biologics like this one in the terribly difficult struggle against advanced cancer diseases.
This article really illuminates the complex interactions between drug company development and research, insurance prices, medical management, and patient hopes and needs.
This morning I stumbled on an article that is a few months old but really lays out the enormous complexity of new drug development and its effects on patients. In this case, the article focuses on a relatively new cancer drug that has been shown to prolong patient life for several months. Although the clinical results have not been conclusive on this drug's benefit and the price tag is huge, most oncologists and patients, faced with desperate situations, rely on biologics like this one in the terribly difficult struggle against advanced cancer diseases.
This article really illuminates the complex interactions between drug company development and research, insurance prices, medical management, and patient hopes and needs.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tonight's Debate!
What did you guys think of tonight's debate?
(psssst...does this count as a "post"?)
(psssst...does this count as a "post"?)
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sometimes You Need to Laugh So You Don't Cry
Hi all - hope you found the CPHP event worthwhile. When I got home, I was reading the SF Chron and came acrossan article outlining a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation with HRET that says Americans are paying more for their employer sponsored health insurance and getting leaner benefits. The average commercial premium for a family is now $12,680/year with the familiy contributing almost 25% of the cost - double what they were expected to contribute in 1999. The full survey can be found on their website www.kff.org. This came out on the heels of a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (quite a name) saying more and more people in the US (est. 57M) are facing challenges paying their medical bills.
In light of all that, it seemed a little humor was in order and leave it to the Onion to supply it in a timely fashion:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/man_succumbs_to_7_year_battle_with
Kim
In light of all that, it seemed a little humor was in order and leave it to the Onion to supply it in a timely fashion:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/man_succumbs_to_7_year_battle_with
Kim
CBO Report on Pharmaceutical Industry
The link to the 2006 CBO Report on Pharmaceutical R&D is http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/76xx/doc7615/10-02-DrugR-D.pdf
This includes much of the data in our talk with more detail and great graphics.
One correction: 2005 Pharma R&D spending was $40 billion compared to $25 billion by the NIH. If you look at figure 4.1 on page 28 you'll see how NIH R&D spending hovered around $10 billion per year from 1976 to 1996 before rising 2.5 fold in the last twelve years (adjusted dollars). Where are the life-saving advances, the blockbuster drugs and procedures that should be the dividends of this research? What accounts for the increase in spending?
If so much research is funded by the NIH why isn't the NIH funded by its own royalty stream? Surely with that level of investment, patentable discoveries are being made!
The answer may lie in the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which assigned the rights to discoveries made by NIH funded studies to Universities, non-profits and small businesses, i.e., everyone except big Pharma. As a result, start-ups get funded by pharmaceutical companies and VC's (who get a lot of their funding from big Pharma), develop the new drug with all kinds of favorable treatment and then get acquired when the product is near market. The Pharma company gets paid profit on their investment, keeps risk and costs off of their books and gets full access to the patents without having to pay a dime to the NIH. Sweet deal for Pharma!
PhRMA is one of the largest lobbying organizations in America, with more than 1000 lobbyists (2+ per congressman) and more than $100 million spent each year to influence legislation. If you haven't seen 60 Minutes Report "Under the Influence" I highly recommend it. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/60minutes/main2625305.shtml
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Coming Economic Crisis
I have attached the lastest update from CNN regarding the President's address as well as Sen. McCain/ Sen Obama's decision for participating in Friday's debate.
I am interested in hearing your thoughts about how this event will affect the future of our nation?
Which canadiate do you think will have the advantage in addressing this crisis?
Do you think people would want Universal Health Care if things tend to worsen economically?
I look forward to your responses!
(CNN) -- Presidential candidates Sen. John McCain -- who said Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign because of the nation's economic crisis -- and Sen. Barack Obama will meet Thursday with President Bush to discuss a proposed Wall Street bailout.
McCain suspended his campaign, saying it was time for both parties to come together to solve economic crisis.
McCain and Obama accepted Bush's invitation to discuss the proposed $700 billion bailout with him and congressional leaders at the White House, the candidates' aides said Wednesday night.
Also Wednesday night, McCain and Obama said in a joint statement that the bailout plan was "flawed" but that "the effort to protect the American economy must not fail."
"Now is a time to come together -- Democrats and Republicans -- in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people," read the statement, which was released about 15 minutes before Bush made a televised address on the economy.
Earlier Wednesday, McCain announced that he would suspend his campaign to go to Washington and participate in negotiations on the bailout plan, and he called for a postponement of Friday's presidential debate. Watch McCain's announcement »
His campaign suggested that he would skip the debate if Congress hadn't passed legislation addressing the crisis by then. Obama, however, said the debate in Oxford, Mississippi, should go forward.
"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person will be the next president," the Democrat said in Clearwater, Florida. "It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once. It's more important than ever to present ourselves to the American people."
The University of Mississippi, the host of Friday's presidential debate, said it is going ahead with preparations for the event. Watch Obama say debate shouldn't be postponed »
McCain's suspension of his campaign hours before Bush's address to the nation on the troubled state of the U.S. financial system, a problem for which Bush's administration has proposed having the Treasury Department buy up to $700 billion in firms' troubled assets -- mainly mortgage-backed securities -- whose values declined as the housing market imploded.
The plan's goal is to stabilize the companies and prompt them to lend again. Watch Bush's address »
While McCain and Obama jointly called for bipartisan cooperation on the economic crisis, in a separate statement Obama outlined some principles he said should guide the legislation and called on McCain to support them.
Obama said the plan should help the "millions of families facing foreclosure" and not just Wall Street; create "an independent, bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency"; have Wall Street repay taxpayers for the bailout; and have an independent, bipartisan board to oversee the bailout.
"This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis," Obama's statement said.
Before Bush invited McCain and Obama to the White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a statement saying that the presidential debate should go on.
"If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now," he added.
McCain senior adviser Mark Salter said that the campaign will suspend airing all ads and all campaign events pending Obama's agreement.Salter also said McCain called Bush and talked to colleagues in Washington and learned that passage of the bailout plan as it then stood was next to impossible. Between McCain's announcement and Bush's speech, congressional leaders said progress has been made in negotiations.
"We agree that key changes should be made to the administration's initial proposal," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader John Boehner said in a joint statement. "It must include basic good-government principles, including rigorous and independent oversight, strong executive compensation standards, and protection for taxpayers."
Obama told reporters that before McCain suspended his campaign, he had called McCain on Wednesday to propose a joint statement of principles to govern the bailout.
McCain announced the campaign suspension shortly after their conversation, Obama said. The joint statement came out hours later.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said McCain's move was "just weird."
"We haven't heard hide nor hair of Sen. McCain in these negotiations," said Schumer, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. "He has not been involved except for an occasional, unhelpful statement, sort of thrown from far away, and the last thing we need in these delicate negotiations is an injection of presidential politics." Watch Schumer call McCain's move "weird" »
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a McCain ally, said that having the candidates join in negotiations over the bailout would be "enormously helpful."
"We need a solution on this financial crisis more than we need a foreign policy debate," said Graham, R-South Carolina. "The next seven days could determine the financial well-being of this country. We can postpone the debate for a week."
And Rep. Roy Blunt, the Republicans' House whip, said McCain's decision "is a testament to the fact that [he] is a guy who would rather be part of the solution than run away from the fight."
The bailout plan has met with a cool reception in two days of hearings on Capitol Hill, where both Democrats and Republicans have expressed skepticism about the proposal drafted by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
McCain said he believes that Congress could forge a consensus on legislation "before the markets open on Monday."
Congress and the White House are trying to negotiate the details of what would be the most sweeping economic intervention by the government since the Great Depression. Bush has asked Congress to act quickly on the bailout proposal after news of failing financial institutions and frozen credit markets.
"The clock is ticking on this crisis. We have to act swiftly, but we also have to get it right," Obama said Wednesday in Dunedin, Florida. "And that means everyone -- Republicans and Democrats, and the White House and Congress -- must work together to come up with a solution that protects American taxpayers and our economy without rewarding those whose greed helped get us into this problem in the first place." iReport.com: Which candidate took the right approach?
Obama said it's unacceptable to expect the American people to "hand this administration or any administration a $700 billion check with no conditions and no oversight when a lack of oversight in Washington and on Wall Street is exactly what got us into this mess."He said that struggling homeowners must be taken care of in any economic recovery plan -- and that taxpayers should "not be spending one dime to reward the same Wall Street CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility got us into this mess."
I am interested in hearing your thoughts about how this event will affect the future of our nation?
Which canadiate do you think will have the advantage in addressing this crisis?
Do you think people would want Universal Health Care if things tend to worsen economically?
I look forward to your responses!
(CNN) -- Presidential candidates Sen. John McCain -- who said Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign because of the nation's economic crisis -- and Sen. Barack Obama will meet Thursday with President Bush to discuss a proposed Wall Street bailout.
McCain suspended his campaign, saying it was time for both parties to come together to solve economic crisis.
McCain and Obama accepted Bush's invitation to discuss the proposed $700 billion bailout with him and congressional leaders at the White House, the candidates' aides said Wednesday night.
Also Wednesday night, McCain and Obama said in a joint statement that the bailout plan was "flawed" but that "the effort to protect the American economy must not fail."
"Now is a time to come together -- Democrats and Republicans -- in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people," read the statement, which was released about 15 minutes before Bush made a televised address on the economy.
Earlier Wednesday, McCain announced that he would suspend his campaign to go to Washington and participate in negotiations on the bailout plan, and he called for a postponement of Friday's presidential debate. Watch McCain's announcement »
His campaign suggested that he would skip the debate if Congress hadn't passed legislation addressing the crisis by then. Obama, however, said the debate in Oxford, Mississippi, should go forward.
"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person will be the next president," the Democrat said in Clearwater, Florida. "It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once. It's more important than ever to present ourselves to the American people."
The University of Mississippi, the host of Friday's presidential debate, said it is going ahead with preparations for the event. Watch Obama say debate shouldn't be postponed »
McCain's suspension of his campaign hours before Bush's address to the nation on the troubled state of the U.S. financial system, a problem for which Bush's administration has proposed having the Treasury Department buy up to $700 billion in firms' troubled assets -- mainly mortgage-backed securities -- whose values declined as the housing market imploded.
The plan's goal is to stabilize the companies and prompt them to lend again. Watch Bush's address »
While McCain and Obama jointly called for bipartisan cooperation on the economic crisis, in a separate statement Obama outlined some principles he said should guide the legislation and called on McCain to support them.
Obama said the plan should help the "millions of families facing foreclosure" and not just Wall Street; create "an independent, bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency"; have Wall Street repay taxpayers for the bailout; and have an independent, bipartisan board to oversee the bailout.
"This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis," Obama's statement said.
Before Bush invited McCain and Obama to the White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a statement saying that the presidential debate should go on.
"If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now," he added.
McCain senior adviser Mark Salter said that the campaign will suspend airing all ads and all campaign events pending Obama's agreement.Salter also said McCain called Bush and talked to colleagues in Washington and learned that passage of the bailout plan as it then stood was next to impossible. Between McCain's announcement and Bush's speech, congressional leaders said progress has been made in negotiations.
"We agree that key changes should be made to the administration's initial proposal," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader John Boehner said in a joint statement. "It must include basic good-government principles, including rigorous and independent oversight, strong executive compensation standards, and protection for taxpayers."
Obama told reporters that before McCain suspended his campaign, he had called McCain on Wednesday to propose a joint statement of principles to govern the bailout.
McCain announced the campaign suspension shortly after their conversation, Obama said. The joint statement came out hours later.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said McCain's move was "just weird."
"We haven't heard hide nor hair of Sen. McCain in these negotiations," said Schumer, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. "He has not been involved except for an occasional, unhelpful statement, sort of thrown from far away, and the last thing we need in these delicate negotiations is an injection of presidential politics." Watch Schumer call McCain's move "weird" »
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a McCain ally, said that having the candidates join in negotiations over the bailout would be "enormously helpful."
"We need a solution on this financial crisis more than we need a foreign policy debate," said Graham, R-South Carolina. "The next seven days could determine the financial well-being of this country. We can postpone the debate for a week."
And Rep. Roy Blunt, the Republicans' House whip, said McCain's decision "is a testament to the fact that [he] is a guy who would rather be part of the solution than run away from the fight."
The bailout plan has met with a cool reception in two days of hearings on Capitol Hill, where both Democrats and Republicans have expressed skepticism about the proposal drafted by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
McCain said he believes that Congress could forge a consensus on legislation "before the markets open on Monday."
Congress and the White House are trying to negotiate the details of what would be the most sweeping economic intervention by the government since the Great Depression. Bush has asked Congress to act quickly on the bailout proposal after news of failing financial institutions and frozen credit markets.
"The clock is ticking on this crisis. We have to act swiftly, but we also have to get it right," Obama said Wednesday in Dunedin, Florida. "And that means everyone -- Republicans and Democrats, and the White House and Congress -- must work together to come up with a solution that protects American taxpayers and our economy without rewarding those whose greed helped get us into this problem in the first place." iReport.com: Which candidate took the right approach?
Obama said it's unacceptable to expect the American people to "hand this administration or any administration a $700 billion check with no conditions and no oversight when a lack of oversight in Washington and on Wall Street is exactly what got us into this mess."He said that struggling homeowners must be taken care of in any economic recovery plan -- and that taxpayers should "not be spending one dime to reward the same Wall Street CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility got us into this mess."
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