And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda, so far, appears to be rather modest. We plan to promenade extensively with the official mascot, tidy up around the castle, check in on the Pharmalot ancestors, and have a listening party with Mrs. Pharmalot (this will be first up). And what about you? There are some holidays just around the bend, so this may be an opportunity to open those catalogs or visit the nearest temple of consumption. You know what they say — act now, before prices rise still further. There is still time, of course, to plan a holiday getaway. Or you could hit the pause button and take stock of life. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon. …
Medicare is willing to reevaluate its coverage of Alzheimer’s drugs in light of a new therapy, called lecanemab, that has shown potentially more promising patient data than its controversial predecessor, Aduhelm, STAT tells us. “I can’t speak to any specifics, but just to say that our door is really open,” Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit when asked about how the agency will approach the drug. “We will look at it as new data comes.” Last April, Medicare finalized a coverage policy in which it would only pay for Aduhelm if patients were enrolled in a clinical trial.
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) made what he called a “final request” to Amgen to “voluntarily” provide information about alleged tax-avoidance schemes that funneled $24 billion in U.S. sales to offshore havens in Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Wyden first asked the company for information last August, but maintained that a response delivered in September did not yield any specific information. His follow-up is part of an ongoing investigation into tax practices by multinational pharmaceutical companies and efforts made to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
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