About pharma
Survey: 50% of Active Drug Shortages in the United States Persist for 2 or More Years “Although the number of active shortages decreased to 277 in the second quarter of 2024 from an all-time high of 323 in the second quarter of 2023, 50% of the active shortages in the United States persisted for 2 or more years, as reported by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Furthermore, the report shows that 95 new drug shortages, 48% of which are injectables, were identified in 2024.”
Kroger Finalizes $1.37 Billion Opioid Crisis Settlement “Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion settlement in connection with the grocery chain’s role in the U.S. opioid crisis…
Kroger also agreed to injunctive relief that requires its pharmacies to monitor, report and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions, according to the settlement.”
Walgreens to pay $100M to resolve lawsuit over generic drug pricing “Walgreens has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit accusing it of fraudulently overcharging customers for a decade when they bought generic drugs through private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.
Walgreens was accused of wrongly requiring insured customers to pay more than members of its Prescription Savings Club, who for a low annual fee could buy more than 500 widely prescribed generic drugs for $5, $10 and $15 for 30-day prescriptions, and $10, $20 and $30 for 90-day prescriptions without using insurance.”
America’s Most Popular Drugs by Dollars Spent See the chart- Ozembic/WeGovy [semiglutide versions] are at the top.
Transparency Shocker: Biosimilars Are Getting Cheaper—But Hospitals and Insurers Can Make Them Expensive “We focused our analysis on Avastin (bevacizumab) and its two largest biosimilar competitors.” See the chart.
About the public’s health
Trump might target fluoride in tap water. Here’s what the science says. See yesterday’s Blog. This potential action is another assault on evidence-based public health practice.
About healthcare IT
Majority of cyberattacks are through third-party vendors “ The vast majority of cybersecurity risks and breaches are from third-party vendors and other organizations, said experts John Riggi and Richard Staynings during the closing keynote of the HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum on Friday.
The numbers have grown from 27 million people affected in 2020 to the 150 million affected by the Change Healthcare ransomware attack in February, according to Riggi, former FBI special agent and national advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk, American Hospital Association.”