Voters Did Not Expect “Silver Bullet” Solution To Rx Drug Costs, Pollster Says
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Post-election survey finds that health care was not a determinative issue in the presidential campaign, pollster Geoffrey Garin says. The Medicare prescription drug program will require a 90% sign-up rate to be financially sustainable, he says.
You may also be interested in...
CMS Math 101: Auto-Enrollment Miscalculation Concerns Rx Card Sponsors
The number of low-income Medicare beneficiaries eligible for auto-enrollment is only about 1 mil., not the 1.8 mil. the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services originally estimated. Incorrect addresses provided to sponsors are also bringing down the number of individuals that can be enrolled.
U.S. Patents Could Limit President's AIDS Drug Assistance Plan, GAO Says
The U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator's Office suggests it will use its authority to purchase an FDA-approved generic antiretroviral product for which permission could not be obtained from the patent holder. FDA grants tentative approval to a South African firm for a generic co-packaged version of Combivir and Viramune.
Sanofi-Aventis' Once-Daily Allegra-D To Launch Mid-Year
With the exception of Allegra, the company's "top 15" products produced double-digit sales growth in 2004. The fastest growing products include the long-acting insulin Lantus (up 80%), the osteoporosis agent Actonel (up 60%) and the oncologic Eloxatin (up 57%).