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The chances of Congress passing legislation to lower drug prices and protect patients from surprise medical bills are fading, at least until after the November election. As the coronavirus crisis overshadows all other activity on Capitol Hill, the massive response package being negotiated on Tuesday is expected to push off a key deadline for drug pricing and surprise billing legislation. The coronavirus response package is going to renew a range of expiring health care programs, such as community health center funding, until Nov. 30, sources say. (Sullivan, 3/24)

After Martin Shkreli took a 5,000% price hike on a decades-old medicine and thwarted rivals, a movement grew to ensure companies could not corner the market on generics that lack patent protection and competition. But a new analysis suggests such efforts would not save tons of money, simply because total government spending on such drugs is not as much as some might imagine. (Silverman, 3/19)

Eli Lilly says it’s heard the reports that some patients can’t get their insulin but insists its supply pipeline is full. Pharmacies that have shortages should be able to get it in a couple of days from wholesalers it insists. Lilly in an update on supplies today said it has received a few reports that some U.S. pharmacies have told patients they are out of insulin due to "manufacturer backorder." Lilly says it has told everyone along the supply chain it doesn’t have any products on backorder—“including insulin”—and that patients need to let their pharmacies know that.  (Palmer, 3/24)

Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc said on Monday its lead drug to treat schizophrenia was now available at U.S. pharmacies for a list price of $1,320 a month. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December approved the drug, Caplyta, as a once-daily dose of 42 mg, which had shown to regulate three neurotransmitter systems linked to severe mental illnesses. Existing anti-psychotic drugs in the U.S. market include Rexulti from Danish drugmaker H. Lundbeck A/S and Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Vraylar from Allergan Plc, and Johnson & Johnson’s Invega. (Roy, 3/23)

Kaiser Health News: Senators Who Led Pharma-Friendly Patent Reform Also Prime Targets For Pharma Cash

Early last year, as lawmakers vowed to curb rising drug prices, Sen. Thom Tillis was named chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on intellectual property rights, a committee that had not met since 2007. As the new gatekeeper for laws and oversight of the nation’s patent system, the North Carolina Republican signaled he was determined to make it easier for American businesses to benefit from it — a welcome message to the drugmakers who already leverage patents to block competitors and keep prices high. (Huetteman, 3/24)

Amid global anxiety over the novel coronavirus, a newly issued warning letter by the Food and Drug Administration serves as a reminder that quality manufacturing needs to remain a priority. Consider the March 17 missive sent to Windlas Healthcare, which 51��Ƶtes finished medicines for some of the world’s largest drug makers. The company committed several serious infractions that alarmed the agency following an August 2019 inspection of a manufacturing facility in northern India. (Silverman, 3/23)