Perhaps this will reverse in Qs 3 and 4, but it is odd that Merck as a much smaller by market cap entity is outspending the gorilla Pfizer, in a quarter when it is also actively litigating against the very payors who feed it: CMS and HHS. Odd, indeed.
In any event, here is what Merck spent its millions urging. [With analogous posts about Amgen and likely Lilly, tomorrow. Do see at bottom, for what the trend looked like, last quarter — almost a complete… inversion, in spending!]
…H.R. 3, (117th Cong.) Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act; H.R. 19, (117th Cong.) Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021; H.R. 830, Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act; H.R. 1418/S. 1844, Animal Drug User Fee Amendments of 2023; H.R. 1503/S. 1844, Prescription Information Modernization Act of 2023; H.R. 1550, (117th Cong.) PREVENT HPV Cancers Act of 2021; H.R. 2679, Pharmacy Benefits Manager Accountability Act; H.R. 2691, Transparent Prices Required to Inform Consumer and Employers (Transparent PRICE) Act; H.R. 2816, Pharmacy Benefit Manager Sunshine and Accountability Act; H.R. 2880, Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act; H.R. 2940/S. 1355, Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions To End Upsurging Resistance Act (PASTEUR) Act of 2023; H.R. 3290, To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to ensure transparency and oversight of the 340B drug discount program; H.R. 3285, Fairness for Patient Medications Act; H.R. 4368/S. 2131, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 S. 150, Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023; S. 2543 (116th Congress) Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019; S. 1895 (116th Congress) Lower Health Care Costs Act; S. 4348, (117th Cong) Food and Drug Administration Safety and Landmark Advancements (FDASLA) Act of 2022….
Issues relating to: 340B program integrity; 340B of the Public Health Services Act; 340B issues; 340B drug pricing program; Drug pricing; Anti-microbial Resistance; Vaccines; Cost and value of medicines; Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) immunization; Vaccines catch up; Vaccines issues; Package inserts, labeling issues, and E-Labeling authorization legislation; Pharmaceutical Supply Channel issues; Drug shortage issues; Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), issues relating to drug pricing provisions; FY-2023 Budget and Appropriations Legislation; Intellectual property protection; WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement; WTO IP Waiver for COVID therapeutics….
Animal Health; Animal Health Technology Issues; Animal Health Policy Issues: ADUFA and Funding for Electronic Animal Traceability; Animal Drug User Fee Reauthorization; One Health Issues….
General pharmaceutical issues; Farm Bill 2023; Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP); Step therapy requirements in commercial health plans; Diversity in clinical trials; Accelerated approval reform; Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) policy issues….
H.R. 1613, Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act of 2023; H.R. 2666, Medicaid VBPs for Patients (MVP) Act; H.R. 5376, (117th Cong.) Build Back Better Act; S. 476 (116th Congress) Creating Transparency to Have Drug Rebates Unlocked (C-THRU) Act of 2019….
Issues relating to: Medicare; Medicare Part B and D drug pricing issues; Prior authorization process under Medicare Advantage plans; 340B program integrity; 340B of the Public Health Services Act; 340B drug pricing program; Drug Pricing; FY-2023 Budget and Appropriations Legislation….
Issues related to: Tax reform and tax policy, generally; Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97); Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), provisions relating to taxes….
Now you know. What a weird ride this has been — against a solid, two-decades-running… trend.
And just to make plain how off the grid this Q2 2023 was, look at Pfizer, last quarter (in my legacy graphic, immediate right) — it spent nearly double what it spent this quarter. Wow.
नमस्ते
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