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This could be the most exciting time in cancer-research history; previously deadly diseases may be survivable for some patients. But there’s a cost. The first approved combination of immune-oncology drugs -- immunity-boosting medicines that can produce spectacular results -- is priced at an incredible $256,000 a year in the U.S. Discounts and rebates usually cut the actual prices people pay for such drugs. But cancer drugs often aren’t discounted as much as other medicines. (Max Nisen, 6/28)

Pharmaceutical companies have long been engaged in direct marketing to patients, most visibly through mass-market advertising. But in recent years, some of these companies have begun to rely more heavily on another form of marketing: direct, one-on-one outreach to patients. Even more troubling, some of this marketing is aimed directly at children. (6/28)

Drug makers complained bitterly last week after the US Supreme Court left intact a controversial procedure for reviewing patent disputes, arguing that the decision threatens valuable research efforts and that patients will eventually suffer. But the truth of those claims is debatable. The ruling upheld a process Congress created five years ago for challenging patents outside the courts. It allows the US Patent and Trademark Office to issue the “broadest reasonable interpretation” of patents. The case at hand had nothing to do with pharmaceuticals, but drug makers believe it will make their patents more easily challenged, and more likely to be overturned. (Ed Silverman, 6/27)

A panel created to give Congress advice on Medicare warned earlier this month that the rising cost of prescription drugs is unsustainable and offered suggestions on how to slow the trend. One popular recommendation called for Congress to sharply reduce or eliminate the co-payments that low-income Medicare recipients pay for generic drugs. Other parts of the complex package received mixed reviews. In any event, most everyone involved knew that the semi-annual report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission was little more than an exercise in frustration. – Congress was not going to do anything in an election year. (6/26)