Top of the morning to you and a fine one it is. Blue skies, cool breezes, and plenty of chirping birds are enveloping the comfy Pharmalot campus, which is cause to fire up the coffee kettle for yet another cup of stimulation. Our choice today is hot buttery rum, which is enhanced by a dollop of locally made honey — sweets for the sweet, you know. Meanwhile, we have assembled several items of interest for you to peruse. We hope you have a wonderful day, and please do keep in touch. Once again, we will note that our settings have changed to accept postcards, telegrams, and pen letters. …
A group of lawmakers led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) demanded answers from Pfizer and Eli Lilly about their relationships with the telehealth prescribers they point patients to from their websites, seeking to determine whether the pharma giants are violating the federal anti-kickback statute, STAT reports. This year, both Pfizer and Lilly launched websites that allow users to learn about their medications, follow links to “talk to a doctor now,” and fill their prescriptions through an online pharmacy. The sites follow a growing trend of pharma companies directing patients to select telehealth platforms, offering instant access to clinicians who can prescribe their drugs. In letters to the companies, the lawmakers suggest the sites are “steering patients toward particular medications and creates the potential for inappropriate prescribing that can increase spending for federal health care programs.” The remarks reiterate concerns raised by health policy and law experts that partnerships between pharma and telehealth companies could increase prescribing of unnecessary and expensive medications.
Most executives at pharmaceutical companies have not directly donated to political candidates over the final stretch of the 2024 campaign, but those who have largely gave to Democrats, STAT tells us. A review of contributions by chief executive officers of member companies and board members of the Pharmaceutical Researchers & Manufacturers of America showed most executives just gave to their company political action committees, if they gave at all. But of the six executives who donated to individual candidates between July 1 and Sept. 30, five gave to Democratic candidates, even though Democratic lawmakers passed the most aggressive drug pricing reform in decades in 2022. Historically, pharmaceutical executives have, in general, more closely aligned with a Republican Party that staked out more pro-business positions. But as populist sentiment has risen in the Trump era, large corporations have found themselves in the crosshairs of even GOP politicians.
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