Amgen Resolves Repatha Access Kerfuffle With Express Scripts

On eve of congressional hearing, the pharmacy benefit manager assures Amgen that Repatha is available to its employees.

medical-costs

A skirmish between Amgen Inc. and Express Scripts Holding Co. over whether Amgen employees have formulary access to the firm's own PCSK9 inhibitor, Repatha, underscores the point pharmaceutical sponsors have been making during the current drug pricing debate: that the current rebating system is complicated and doesn't necessarily produce the lowest prices. But it also underscores the point that pharmacy benefit managers have been making: that what sponsors are doing and saying about prices won't necessarily bring costs down either.

The Repatha conflict came to a head the day before a congressional hearing on Rx drug prices and the supply...

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