Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. We can tell thanks to the cacophonous sounds of traffic passing the Pharmalot campus, where the official mascot is stalking squirrels and waiting for a playdate. As for us, we are brewing cups of stimulation — our choice today is macadamia nut — and foraging, as usual, for items of interest. On that note, we have assembled the latest menu of tidbits for you to peruse as you start your own journey, which we hope goes swell. So time to get cracking. Have a great day and, of course, do stay in touch. We are adding to our list of pen pals all the time. …
Amazon is beefing up its Prime program for U.S. users with a new prescription benefit called RxPass, which will allow Prime members to get as many drugs as they need for $5 a month from a list of 50 generic medications used to treat more than 80 common conditions, CNBC tells us. Amazon has another Prime prescription savings benefit that offers a discount of up to 80% on generic medications and up to 40% on brand-name prescriptions. Amazon has pushed deeper into health care in recent years, including the 2020 launch of its online pharmacy. But an August report from Morgan Stanley found Amazon Pharmacy did not rank as a top perk for Prime members.
The pharmaceutical industry lobbying group PhRMA has severed its contract with a lobbyist who is the brother of a prominent Biden White House official, STAT reports. PhRMA hired Jeff Ricchetti’s lobbying firm to represent it in early 2022, as debate over drug-pricing reform within the Democratic Party raged. Ricchetti is the brother of Steve Ricchetti, who serves as a high-level counselor to the president in the White House, and was a central figure in the Biden administration effort on drug pricing legislation. The lobbying group cut ties with him in the last quarter of 2022, according to federal lobbying records.
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