This piece was part of a symposium featuring commentary from participants in the Center for Health Policy and Law’s annual conference, Promises and Perils of Emerging Health Innovations, held on April 11-12, 2019 at Northeastern University School of Law. The symposium was originally posted through the Northeastern University Law Review Online Forum. Promises and Perils of Emerging Health…
By Beatrice Brown In my last blog post, I reflected on the ethical issues relevant to a critical shortage of a widely used pediatric oncology drug, vincristine. The shortage occurred after one of two pharmaceutical companies producing the drug, Teva, withdrew from the market, and the other, Pfizer, was unable to keep up with the…
This post is part of our Eighth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review symposium. You can read all of the posts in the series here. Review the conference’s full agenda and register for the event on the Petrie-Flom Center’s website. By Prof. I. Glenn Cohen and Kaitlyn Dowling The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy,…
By Phebe Hong The mission of the Patient Access Network Foundation (PANF) is “[t]o help underinsured people with life-threatening, chronic and rare diseases get the medications and treatments they need by assisting with their out-of-pocket costs and advocating for improved access and affordability.” PANF proudly boasts that since 2004, it has “provided nearly 1 million…
By Daniel Aaron As the opioid litigation continues over the shadow of one of our nation’s most pressing public health crises, some criticism has been levied at private lawyers representing the cities, counties, states, and individuals harmed by the crisis. For example, see the following tweet: Let’s work out tax and healthcare financing policy county…
By Beatrice Brown Recently, news broke that there is a critical shortage of vincristine, a drug that is integral for treating pediatric cancers. According to the Children’s Oncology Group, Pfizer communicated that they were experiencing a shortage of the drug due to a manufacturing delay. Pfizer is now the sole supplier of vincristine in the…
By Ameet Sarpatwari, Charlie Lee, Frazer Tessema, and Aaron S. Kesselheim Each month, members of the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) review the peer-reviewed medical literature to identify interesting empirical studies, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division. Below are the abstracts/summaries…
By Phebe Hong On October 7th, toward the end of his health care “bill-signing marathon,” Governor Gavin Newsom signed bill AB 824, making California the first state to ban pharmaceutical “pay-for-delay” deals. The new law prohibits pay-for-delay deals, which is the practice of pharmaceutical companies giving “anything of value” to generic manufacturers to keep lower-cost…
By Daniel Aaron On October 21, two Ohio counties are slated to present their opioid claims in a federal trial. However, last week, 13 states and the District of Columbia signed onto a brief requesting that the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals stay the upcoming trials. Their reasoning? States should control lawsuits for harms within…
By Phebe Hong It happens every year like clockwork: Apple releases a new iPhone, and then hordes of people rush to buy it, despite still owning perfectly functional older models. We’re willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for a few extra camera features and new colors. As a result, Apple profits. A similar phenomenon…
