Posted by Michael Wonder on 29 Apr 2019
The obscure advisory committees at the heart of the U.S. drug pricing debate
30 April 2019 - Expectations were high last year for three new migraine drugs hitting the market from Amgen, Eli Lilly and Teva.
Priced around $7,000 each, the drug makers called them “breakthrough” treatments designed to prevent migraines when taken year-round, and estimated that millions of patients could benefit. The U.S. FDA said Amgen’s Aimovig – the first of the three drugs approved – was an “important addition” to available treatments.
But a small group of external medical experts who quietly advise U.S. health insurers on new drugs was not impressed, according to a private meeting held at UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx offices in Chicago that was attended by Reuters.
