A report by the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK) released a report on patent abuse and so-called gaming of the patent system. I-MAK is a nonprofit organization that advocates drug patent reform.
Four pharmaceutical companies have filed hundreds of patents to keep their drugs out of the hands of generic competition and prolong their “unprecedented profits,” according to a report published Thursday.
Private equity is scooping up thousands of health care businesses across the nation. If you present at an emergency room there is a good chance you will be treated by a physician employed by a firm backed by private equity investors. In some cases, entire hospitals are being purchased or managed by firms backed by private equity. Increasingly, physician practices are being bought up by private equity investors. The profit motive is worrying many stakeholders, fearing high prices and lower quality. Kaiser Health News has a series of articles on private equity investing in health care.
The US determines drug viability for the whole world:
Except in rare cases, pharmaceutical companies develop drugs for the U.S. market…. Probable success in America is a necessary and sufficient condition for the development of new drugs.
A federal judge in Texas ruled that some of the mandated benefits in health plans governed by the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional. The Texas lawsuit was filed by conservative stakeholders.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor… ruled that the members of one of the three groups that make coverage recommendations, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, were not lawfully appointed under the Constitution because they were not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.