Insurers heart specialty pharmacy

Hospitals and physicians’ offices jack up the prices of medications far beyond what they would cost at specialty pharmacies. That’s according to new data from America’s Health Insurance Plans.

“See what insurance companies say” is often good advice. They tend to ignore politics and focus strictly on their bottom line, for better or worse. So when they point fingers at what’s costing them money, it’s worth listening.

In this case, their data found that, of the 10 highest-cost drugs, physician offices marked up prices by $1,559 and hospitals marked them up by $8,278.

“Specialty pharmacies lower a patient’s health care costs by preventing hospitals and physicians from charging exorbitant fees to buy and store specialty medicines themselves,” the study explained. “Secure, direct delivery is more efficient and effective and reduces health care costs.”

Click here for the AHIP’s report (2-page PDF).

Congrats to Smita (and UGA)!

Congrats to UGA postdoctoral researcher Smita Rawal, winner of a Best Poster Award at APhA’s Annual Meeting in Phoenix! She was among the UGA College of Pharmacy’s faculty and students presenting posters and serving as delegates to the Academy of Student Pharmacists at the meeting. W00t!

(Another) potential insulin capsule

Another team — this one out of Australia — says it’s cracked the problem of oral insulin.

That problem: Proteins like insulin (and monoclonal antibodies) tend to get destroyed by the digestive system, hence the need to inject them

The Aussies’ solution is pretty simple: “a special coating designed to not breakdown in the low pH environment of the stomach, before the higher pH levels in the small intestine trigger the capsule to dissolve.”

But not to miss out on using nano in their work, the insulin itself is encased in “a fatty nanomaterial within the capsule.”

Result: It works well for slow-acting insulin, but only so-so for the fast-acting stuff. Their next step is to try tweaking the capsule to release the dose on a particular schedule.

Gamers would call this “sus”

Four of the FDA officials involved in the controversial approval of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm were being … well, we won’t say investigated, so how about looked into? They were being looked into for their overly close ties with the company.

And, not being suspicious at all, all four have now left the agency — three to work for drugmakers. (The fourth’s landing spot isn’t yet known.)

This isn’t to say they’ve done anything wrong, but … seriously guys.

Should the FDA study opioids?

Why would people complain if the FDA wants to study how effective opioids are for chronic pain?

Proponents of the study say it will prove that opioids don’t work well for the long term and thus shouldn’t be prescribed that way.

But people opposed to the study say we already know that opioids do work long term so the study is “an awful lot of work for a very predictable answer” that will play into the hands of pharmaceutical companies.

Did you follow that? One side is certain that opioids don’t work long-term (and wants the study to prove it), and the other is certain that they do work (and doesn’t want the study to prove it).

And then, just to add to the mess, there are people who say that the study itself might get people addicted. Get your popcorn.

Money for nothin’

Congress to NIH: Here’s $1 billion. That’s a thousand million dollars. Investigate long Covid and help develop treatments.

NIH: (hums quietly to itself)

Congress, later: So, whatcha got for us?

NIH: Well, we did some “broader, observational research.”

Congress: Got any patents? Started any patient studies?

NIH: (rubs neck, looks embarrassed)

Patients: [expletives deleted]

The Long Read: Long Covid Remains edition

First the idea of long Covid was just ignored or denied entirely. Now, says Ed Yong*, it “has morphed into a subtler dismissal.”

Yet long COVID is a substantial and ongoing crisis—one that affects millions of people. However inconvenient that fact might be to the current “mission accomplished” rhetoric, the accumulated evidence, alongside the experience of long haulers, makes it clear that the coronavirus is still exacting a heavy societal toll.

^* He won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the pandemic.

Short Takes

Can Rite-Aid survive?

The chain lost $241 million the past quarter — even on revenues of $6.1 billion. Non-Covid scripts are up, but Covid vaccines and testing are down, as is business for its Elixir PBM.

Sleep aid for Alzheimer’s

A small study out of Washington University in St. Louis suggests that taking suvorexant (or other sleep aids — but suvorexant is what they used) can help break the cycle of ‘brain changes – sleeplessness – brain changes’ that Alzheimer’s patients can experience.

No, it’s not a treatment, but it’s at least a bit of small arms in the arsenal if further studies pan out.