Thousands of plaintiffs across the country claiming in a federal lawsuit that Ozempic, Mounjaro and other popular drugs prescribed for diabetes and obesity harmed their health, and that the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured them failed to warn patients of their risks. The suit against two manufacturers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, was filed this year. It's in the discovery process and may go to trial in 2025. Central to the lawsuit is the claim that Ozempic caused plaintiffs' gastroparesis.
A U.S. appeals court revived a lawsuit on Friday by healthcare and drug industry groups challenging the first-ever U.S. law requiring pharmaceutical companies to negotiate drug prices with the government's Medicare health insurance program that covers 66 million people. The decision from the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not address the merits of the case, which was brought by the nation's largest drug industry lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and others. Instead, the court found only that a Texas judge was wrong to dismiss the case in February on the grounds that he did not have jurisdiction to hear it.
Cardinal Health on Friday agreed to acquire community cancer center operator Integrated Oncology Network for $1.12 billion in cash, marking its expansion into cancer care. The Dublin, Ohio-based company is the latest to join the trend of healthcare service companies diversifying beyond drug distribution. Rival McKesson recently acquired a unit of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute for $2.49 billion, while Cencora, in partnership with TPG Inc., purchased OneOncology for $2.1 billion in 2023. The deal gives Cardinal Health's cancer-focused unit Navista access to a network of more than 100 healthcare providers across 10 states in the U.S.
The FTC on Friday sued the nation's three largest pharmacy benefits managers that negotiate insulin prices, arguing the drug middlemen use practices that boost their profits while "artificially" inflating costs for patients. The suit targets UnitedHealth Group's Optum Rx, CVS Health's Caremark and Cigna's Express Scripts. All are owned by or connected to health insurers and collectively administer about 80% of the nation's prescriptions, according to the FTC. The FTC's lawsuit also includes each PBM's affiliated group purchasing organization, which brokers drug purchases for hospitals and other health-care providers. The agency said it could recommend suing drugmakers Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk in the future as well over their role in driving up list prices for their insulin products.
The Health Resources and Services Administration has threatened Johnson & Johnson with sanctions if the company proceeds with plans to alter payment methods for some hospitals that participate in a federal drug discount program. In a letter sent on Tuesday, HRSA maintained that a J&J plan to issue rebates for two widely prescribed medicines instead of offering discounted prices would violate federal law. The agency argued the planned move is unlawful because it would require the hospitals to purchase the medicines at prices exceeding what the discount program permits. Last month, J&J announced it would change payment terms for its Xarelto blood thinner and the Stelara plaque psoriasis treatment through the 340B drug discount program. To ensure the program achieves this goal, drug companies that want to take part in Medicare or Medicaid must offer their medicines at a discount — typically, 25% to 50%, but sometimes higher — to participating hospitals and clinics.
For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S. 'This is exciting,' said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute On Drug Abuse, the federal laboratory charged with studying addiction. 'This looks real. This looks very, very real.' National surveys compiled by the CDC already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6%. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages. Some researchers believe the data will show an even larger decline in drug deaths when federal surveys are updated to reflect improvements being seen at the state level, especially in the eastern U.S.