Appreciation for “me-too” drugs has arrived, Forbes reported. Having multiple treatment options, such as in the hepatitis-C drug market, helps payers obtain lower drug prices. The market for new hepatitis-C drugs with high cure rates includes Gilead Sciences’ Sovaldi and Harvoni, Johnson & Johnson’s Olysio and AbbVie’s Viekira Pak. The anticipated approval of Amgen’s PCSK9 inhibitor later this month will create competition for Praluent, Sanofi’s and Regeneron’s PCKS9 inhibitor, and may help drive down the costs of both drugs.
Start-ups are competing to become the Uber of medical house calls, according to The Wall Street Journal. One company, Heal, provides nonemergency care such as flu shots, strep-throat treatments and stitches for lacerations. Pager, another company, sends doctors and nurse practitioners to people’s homes.
There is a good chance that the FDA will appeal a judge’s ruling allowing Amarin to legally communicate truthful and not misleading information about its fish-oil pill even though it is not part of the FDA-approved label, The New York Times reported. The agency traditionally police off-label marketing aggressively.
An analyst said that Aquinox’s experimental drug for bladder pain and eczema may be more promising than earlier data showed it to be, according to Bloomberg Business. The drug, AQX-1125, had originally failed to show a benefit in treating bladder pain.
Takeda and Lundbeck said the FDA accepted a supplemental new drug application for their antidepressant, Brintellix, which was approved in September 2013. The action date for the filing is March 28.
