Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Diabetics Encounter Obstacles To Obtaining 'Breakthrough' Inhaled Insulin Option
It took 10 years and $1 billion for MannKind Corp. in Valencia to get its breakthrough inhaled-insulin drug approved by U.S. regulators. Now comes the hard part: getting people with diabetes to use it. If Cynthia Goldstein's experience is any indication, it's not going to be easy. (Pfeifer, 6/3)
It's no secret that health care costs are on the rise, and have been for years. From monthly premiums to co-pays and now coinsurance for prescription drugs, consumers are being squeezed financially as a result of trying to keep their families healthy. A relatively new factor in this cost-versus-care debate are biologic drugs, complex medicines made from living cells that treat deadly and debilitating diseases. Doctors are increasingly prescribing them to treat everything from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis. (Greenberg, 6/3)