Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging deceptive pricing practices within its Prescription Savings Club program. The plaintiffs claimed Walgreens inflated prices for generic drugs to insurers while offering lower prices to cash-paying customers, resulting in overpayments for insured individuals. The settlement comes as Walgreens faces scrutiny over its pricing practices and its impact on healthcare costs.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has launched the first generic version of Sandostatin LAR Depot in the U.S., offering a more affordable treatment option for patients with acromegaly and severe diarrhea associated with carcinoid syndrome. The launch comes amidst potential market impacts related to recent events in the Middle East.
Novartis AG, the pharmaceutical giant, has suffered a legal setback in its efforts to prevent the launch of a generic version of its blockbuster heart-failure drug, Entresto. A federal court ruled against Novartis’ request to block MSN Pharmaceuticals from launching its generic version, citing a low likelihood of winning the patent infringement lawsuit. While the ruling temporarily suspends MSN’s sales pending an appeal, it marks a significant blow to Novartis’ efforts to protect its intellectual property and maintain market dominance for Entresto, its top-selling drug.
A groundbreaking HIV drug, Lenacapavir, could cost as little as $40 per year to manufacture, potentially revolutionizing the fight against the virus. Researchers estimate that the cost could be drastically reduced if generic versions are allowed, making the drug accessible to millions who currently cannot afford it.
Indian pharmaceutical company Biocon is looking for a Chinese partner to conduct clinical trials for generic versions of Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic and weight loss treatment Wegovy. The move comes ahead of the patent expiration on semaglutide, a key ingredient in both drugs, in China in 2026.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has challenged hundreds of alleged “junk” patents held by pharmaceutical companies for 20 brand-name drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drugs Ozempic, Saxenda, and Victoza. The FTC warned 10 companies that certain drug patents were improperly listed, including Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Covis Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals. The FTC argues that drugmakers are needlessly listing dozens of extra patents for branded medications to keep their drug prices high and stall generic competitors from entering the U.S. market. The FTC Chair Lina Khan said that filing bogus patent listings blocks competition and inflates the cost of prescription drugs, forcing Americans to pay high prices for medicines they rely on.
The Hatch-Waxman Act revolutionized the generic drug market, significantly reducing healthcare costs. However, the very success of generic drugs has led to shortages due to low prices, making production and quality assurance economically unfeasible. Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) have been blamed for driving prices down, but economists argue that their pricing power alone cannot fully explain the persistent shortages. The issue stems from the ‘common agency problem,’ where individual GPOs have insufficient incentives to ensure adequate supply because the benefits of their actions spill over to competitors. Government action and non-governmental initiatives are needed to address this market failure, such as subsidies for shortage-prone drugs, hospital reserves, and quality monitoring.
