Medicare now has a policy of sanctions for drugs whose price increases too rapidly.
One of drugs targeted by this policy is Flovent, whose cash price increased from around $240 to around $340 over the past decade (Running the numbers, that is about a 3.5% annual increase, which does not sound bad, until you realize that the full cost of bringing the drug to market was likely covered in the first two years).
GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Flowvent's response was to rebrand as a generic, fluticasone, drop the price of the generic by a small amount, and stop producing the name brand, starting today.
The theory is that this sets a new baseline for the price, so they avoid penalties.
GSK opened up a whole can of worms, with insurance companies, pharmacy benefits managers, and other parasites (but I repeat my self) dragging their feet on putting the "new" generic on the approved list, because there is always time to fuck the consumer:
Earlier this year, parents trying to fill their children’s asthma prescriptions at pharmacies around the country got a jolt: The medicine was no longer covered. Soon, it would disappear from the market.
The reason: pricing.
Starting Jan. 1, drugmakers that have raised prices significantly face stiff new penalties that require them to essentially pay Medicaid for patients to use their drugs.
Drugmakers including Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi are cutting prices of some insulin products by 70% or more on New Year’s Day. GlaxoSmithKline plans to cut prices for three products including its asthma and emphysema medication Advair Diskus, according to pricing data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by a Glaxo spokeswoman.
In June, Glaxo decided on a riskier gambit for its popular asthma inhaler Flovent HFA. It told the FDA it would pull the branded drug from the market in 2024. The company hoped patients would use a new generic version manufactured by Glaxo with a lower list price that isn’t subject to the Medicaid penalties. The maneuver would have effectively cut the price of the medication by a third.
It backfired.
Major pharmacy-benefit managers are refusing to cover the new generic product, despite a list price 35% cheaper than brand-name Flovent HFA, a favorite of pediatricians who said it is easier for children to use than other products. The skirmish between Glaxo and PBMs has left children stuck in the middle. One option is to try a different product, but not all insurers cover inhalers appropriate for children, doctors said.
Major pharmacy-benefit managers are refusing to cover the new generic product, despite a list price 35% cheaper than brand-name Flovent HFA, a favorite of pediatricians who said it is easier for children to use than other products. The skirmish between Glaxo and PBMs has left children stuck in the middle. One option is to try a different product, but not all insurers cover inhalers appropriate for children, doctors said.
………
An Express Scripts spokeswoman said Glaxo made the decision to pull Flovent HFA from the market and introduce unbranded versions at inflated prices.
The brand, Flovent,is about (drug pricing is opaque) 35% more than their generic, fluticasone, and in Canada it is less than ⅓ of either.
I can see how the folks at Express Scripts considers the new generic overpriced.
Of course, it is the patients who are caught in the crossfire.
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