On Tuesday (9/1), President Trump claimed to have meetings set with pharmaceutical executives to discuss drug pricing.

The President announced he will be meeting with the executives to discuss their alternative plans to his most favored nation executive order that he signed earlier this summer but has yet to release publicly. PhRMA has no knowledge of any meeting planned between the administration and drugmakers. To review the full Reuters article, click here.

In an attempt to lower drug prices, California’s legislature has approved a bill that would allow the state to produce and distribute medications with their own generic drug label.

California bill SB852 has been sent to Governor Newsom after receiving bipartisan support, after a similar bill was scrapped earlier this year due to budgetary constraints. When approved, the bill will allow California HHS to produce generic prescriptions and at least one form of insulin. To review the full Politico article, click here.

• To read the California state bill, click here.

Eli Lilly has confirmed that they will no longer participate in the 340B program through contract pharmacies, with the one exception of insulin.

Lilly claims the exception of insulin is in line with President Trump’s July 24th executive order on drug pricing to ensure patients can “directly benefit from discounts on Lilly insulins.” However, 340B Health has threatened legal action, as this announcement prevents patients from benefiting from the expanded care and assistance with care costs from 340B savings. To review the full article, click here.  

• The House Energy & Commerce committee has written for HHS to stop drug manufacturers, such as Eli Lilly, from limiting their 340B discounts. To read the full letter to Secretary Azar, click here.

Drug pricing watchdog, Good Rx, published a report on copay assistance for expensive drugs.

Good Rx found that not only do drug companies often offer copay savings when a there is a lower priced generic available, but brand-only drugs often have many more barriers to receiving copay assistance. Additional barriers and unclear instructions on how to access assistance programs often lead patients to avoid taking advantage of copay savings programs all together. These complications lead to unnecessary out of pocket expenses or nonadherence. To review the complete report, click here.