Hello, everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week. Congratulations on making it this far. It is an accomplishment, after all. The next step is to forge ahead. And why not? Just consider the alternatives. On that optimistic note, please join us for a needed cup or three of stimulation. Our choice today is banana split. Meanwhile, here are some items of interest to get you going. Have a wonderful day and do drop us a line when you hear something juicy. …
Insmed received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for the first treatment for a chronic lung disease, opening the biotech up to what could be a multibillion-dollar product, STAT writes. The company will sell the daily pill, brensocatib, under the brand name Brinsupri for bronchiectasis. The approval comes after the treatment succeeded in one of last year’s most closely watched Phase 3 trials. Insmed, which will sell the drug at an annual list price of $88,000, estimates the drug can deliver peak sales of $5 billion, making it a growth driver that could help propel it into becoming a major biotech. The company has also filed for the drug to be approved in Europe and the U.K. and plans to file in Japan. Bronchiectasis affects about 350,000 to 500,000 adults in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association.
A clutch of Western drugmakers are looking to boost sales of their most innovative and expensive medicines in China, the world’s second-largest pharmaceuticals market, by trying to get their treatments included in Beijing’s new catalog for commercial health insurance, Bloomberg News explains. Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novo Nordisk are among those who have applied for a place in the catalog, according to documents released by the National Health Security Administration. The idea of the list, incorporating innovative drugs that are far too expensive to be covered by the state insurance program but recommended for reimbursement by private health insurers, was first touted this year. With state-backed insurance unable to afford their treatments, drugmakers until now had to choose between offering steep discounts in exchange for a spot on the national drug reimbursement list, or limit themselves to a much smaller private market. The commercial catalog, which could allow these drugs to be reimbursed at a smaller discount, will open a new door for multinational companies to expand sales.
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