Two events lead the way to greater coverage and reimbursement for obesity drugs: a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would remove Medicare Part D’s ban on covering obesity drugs and AMA’s recognition of obesity as a disease.
A major block to moving toward widespread coverage of obesity drugs by health plans would be removed through a bill introduced in the House and Senate June 19 with bipartisan support.
The bill, the “Treat and Reduce Obesity Act,” would remove the current statutory restriction on coverage of obesity drugs by Medicare Part D prescription drug plans.
Germany’s federal health care decision-making body, the G-BA, tells the Pink Sheet that German drug prices are fair and speculation of price rises in the market due to the US MFN policy is fear mongering.
Legislation prohibiting work with certain Chinese biopharma firms will be reintroduced soon, Democratic Sen. Gary Peters said. And it will not be the only bill tied to international biotech competition and security concerns that will be considered.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said a policy that would remove the tax write-off for pharma advertising expenses would be coming in a few weeks.
Pink Sheet reporter and editors discuss the new clinical trial requirements that the FDA announced for COVID-19 vaccines, the updated label for Novavax’s newly approved COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine-related events that were part of a busy week for policy in the sector.
The FDA’s advisors split on whether to update COVID-19 vaccines for the fall. The agency refused to discuss the impact of the new vaccine framework on availability.
Webpages, a healthcare professional pamphlet and a medical conference exhibit booth panel make unsupported comparative superiority claims about generic torsemide products and misrepresent risks, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion says in its first warning letter of 2025.
Research would include initiatives on reproducing industry-sponsored studies, postmarket surveillance, and studies of long-term neurodevelopmental and metabolic outcomes for commonly prescribed pediatric drugs.
