MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'gouging'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:32:11 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862921&cid=t_229609_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FbtRrdLyDk40%2F Earlier this year, a scandal erupted after KV Pharmaceuticals won approval for its Makena drug to prevent premature births and charged $1,500 for treatment, an eye-popping increase for a med that was previously available from compounding pharmacies for $10 to $20 for decades. The move was possible because the FDA approval came with marketing exclusivity under the Orphan Drug Act (see here). The episode prompted accusations of price gouging and forced the FDA to decline to pursue compounders (read this and this). Moreover, the red-hot controversy focused renewed attention on older drugs that are repurposed, win FDA approval and gain a lock on the market that allows prices to be increased dramatically. And so Herb Kohl, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and three members of t... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862921 Wed, 25 May 2011 12:03:41 +0100 4862921 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4664471&cid=t_229609_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FBooQH9h2fi8%2F Under enormous political pressure and undercut by an unexpected FDA decision earlier this week, KV Pharmaceuticals has lowered the price of its Makena injectable drug for premature births by nearly 55 percent, to $690 per injection. Previously, KV hoped to charge $1,500. Despite the decrease, this is still considerably more than the $10 to $20 that compounding pharmacies typically charge. Nonetheless, KV maintains the price drop, supplemental rebates and the standard 23.1 percent Medicaid rebate “will result in a substantially reduced cost per injection for state Medicaid agencies compared to list price. This will help ensure that every woman who is prescribed Makena – regardless of her ability to pay – has the comfort of knowing a medication that has been rigorously reviewed by ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4664471 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:18:27 +0100 4664471 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658625&cid=t_229609_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FywfQAM3CoRc%2F Earlier this month, controversy erupted after KV Pharmaceuticals began charging $1,500 for an injection of its Makena drug for preventing premature births. Why? Makena is actually a form of progesterone that has been available for decades from compounding pharmacies at roughly $10 to $20 a week (read this and this). Now, though, KV Pharma has a lock on the market, because Makena is the only drug approved by the FDA for this purpose. Two US senators, however, asked the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate and various patient groups are pressuring KV to lower its price. We spoke with Alan Fleischman, medical director at the March of Dimes, which has received some $1 million in donations from KV over the past decade, but issued a harsh condemnation (see this). This chat occurred just be... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658625 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:22:30 +0100 4658625 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610798&cid=t_229609_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnOK001C_VOY%2F By George Scoville What are Republicans doing to stop ObamaCare? Not much. Conflating the Taliban with al Qaeda isn't helping our foreign policy dialogue. "Sitting in a Volt that would not start at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, a GM engineer swore to me that the internal combustion engine in the machine only served as a generator, kicking in when the overnight-charged lithium-ion batteries began to run down." The new issue of Regulation looks at price gouging, soda taxes, the Durbin Amendment, and more. Who should decide when we tap into strategic oil reserves: The president? Or market forces?  Friday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610798 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:46:11 +0100 4610798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4459944&cid=t_229609_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQmFdlTYgTFM%2F By Chris EdwardsHouse Republicans proposed some (tiny) spending cuts this week and the Obama administration will likely propose some (tiny) cuts next week in the federal budget. So get ready for a barrage of slasher stories! National Journal started us off yesterday with the headline “WH Slashes Heat for the Poor.” Coming down the pike are dozens of stories about how policymakers are planning deep, vicious, and inhumane cuts that will undermine the foundations of the republic. A 5 percent cut to a program that has risen 50 percent in recent years will not be a simple “trim,” but a brutal, gouging “slash.” Every single one of the upcoming cuts will be to “popular” programs. So policymakers will propose a $1 million cut to mohair subsidies, and the headline will be “Congre... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4459944 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:03:50 +0100 4459944 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362571&cid=t_229609_150_f&fid=34768&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmagossip.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fcrazy-contd.html (Source: PharmaGossip) PharmaGossip blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362571 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:45:00 +0100 3362571 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249695&cid=t_229609_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLLpycObJrWo%2F Kevin Drum writes, There are lots of things to hate about our current medical system, and all of us have our own favorite things to hate. This is mine: the fact that the system massively overcharges you if you’re uninsured, and they do it just because they can. If you’re uninsured, you’ve got no leverage, no alternatives, no nothing. So you get screwed. It’s like the shopkeepers who charge twenty bucks for a pair of flashlight batteries after hurricanes. Maybe it’s the free market at work, but if so, that’s all the worse for the free market. In the healthcare biz, it just doesn’t work. I see it’s time to roll up the sleeves. First, let’s look at price gouging after a hurricane. I admit it — in a free market, that’s precisely wha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249695 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:48:30 +0100 2249695 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2047635&cid=t_229609_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F486884969%2F The Federal Trade Commission filed a civil lawsuit claiming that Ovation Pharmaceuticals illegally maintained a monopoly by purchasing the only two meds approved to treat premature babies born with a potentially life-threatening congenital heart defect - and then raised prices by 1,300 percent. And so the FTC wants the drugmaker to divest either of the two drugs - NeoProfen and Indocin - and also forfeit all “unlawfully obtained profits,” according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Minnesota. In the suit, the FTC says Ovation purchased the rights to Indocin in August 2005 from Merck and, five months later, acquired the rights to NeoProfen, which was about to be approved by the FDA, in order to “eliminate (a) competitive threat.” After buying NeoProfen, Ovatio... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2047635 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:35:33 +0100 2047635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1655674&cid=t_229609_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F345588339%2F Why has the cost of some drugs skyrocketed? That’s the question the Joint Economic Committee explored at a hearing yesterday in which some specialty pharma companies were skewered for raising prices dramatically after buying meds from larger drugmakers. Among those cited were Ovation Pharmaceuticals, whose ceo, Jeff Aronin, is a PhRMA board member. In her opening remarks, US Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, indicated she asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Ovation for allegedly exploiting a lack of competition to one of its products. Another company cited was Questcor Pharmaceuticals. “When we have pharmaceutical companies like Ovation or Questcor increasing prices to astronomical levels because of the lack of competition in the market, their act... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1655674 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:52:39 +0100 1655674