The Economics of Biologic Drugs
The market for biologic drugs in the United States is large and growing. Total US biologic sales in 2018 is estimated to have been $125 billion, an increase of 50 percent since 2014.
Details
Debate Over Whether Biologics Constitute Natural Monopolies Continues
“Peter B. Bach, MD, a well-known critic of high drug prices, along with Jennifer A. Ohn, MPH, Preston Atteberry, MD, and Mark Trusheim, MSc, first wrote in April that biosimilar competition is an economically inefficient way to achieve the goal of lower prices; the biosimilar environment is different than the one that exists in the generic marketplace for small-molecule drugs. These authors said, instead, that biosimilars are natural monopolies and as such need price regulation in order for them to succeed and for prices to come down.”
Details
MGA’s Alex Brill on CNBC’s Squawk Box
“I think its a solid [GDP] number. Obviously the inventory piece creates a little bit of volatility and the investment numbers are a disappointment, but not a surprise. Overall we see a strong consumers. On the Fed, I would agree with Austin. What the Fed has to do now more than ever is try to block out the political noise, focus on the data and make the best call to boost their credibility or sustain their credibility.”
Details
Conservative Thinkers Share Their Views for Biosimilars in a Post-ACA, BPCIA Landscape
“Would legislators take the opportunity to redo some parts of the BPCIA, if they had the chance? Both [Alex] Brill and Hayes said while that, too, is theoretically possible—such as shortening the period of patent exclusivity or changing other aspects of the patent dance—the danger is that it would then get stuck in the quagmire of politics.”
Details
Shortened Exclusivity Could Save $31B
“Brand-name medicines’ market exclusivity periods have climbed an average of 2.2 years since the mid-1990s, steadily delaying the market arrival of generic rivals. Reversing that trend alone could save the U.S. health care system roughly $31.7 billion, according to a Matrix report commissioned by the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs, a group of insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and large employers.”
Details
MGA’s Alex Brill on CNBC’s Squawk Box
Today, Brill discusses President Trump’s potential appointment options for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
Details
Biologics are Not Natural Monopolies
Recently, several physicians and health policy analysts took to the Health Affairs blog to propose what was, to anyone who has been following biosimilars for the last decade or more, a surprising and concerning idea: that biosimilars should be abandoned.
Details
2018 Charitable Giving Dips, as Predicted
A Giving USA report released last week shows that US households’ charitable donations in 2018 experienced the largest decline since the Great Recession. We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.
Details
MGA’s Alex Brill on CNBC’s Squawk Box
Watch Brill’s latest news clip from his CNBC interview where he discusses raising tax rates on the rich.
Details
If Trump Country Soars, Will the President Glide to a Second Term?
“He (Alex Brill) found that 10 states — many of them with large rural populations — broke records in 2019 by hitting their lowest unemployment rates in history: Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.”
Details