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The patients here ask about the treatment by name. They’ve seen the crisp, alluring ads on TV and heard the soothing spots on the radio: Harvoni, they know, could cure their hepatitis C. But in this town, carved into the Appalachian mountains, in a state beset by hepatitis C rates seven times the national average, Harvoni and other new hepatitis C drugs remain largely out of reach. Over the past year, only 3 percent of the state’s Medicaid beneficiaries with the disease received treatment. (Joseph, 11/14)

A single sentence in President-elect Donald Trump's health-care platform sends a strong hint to the drug and medical device industry that they may have an easier time getting their products on the market under his administration. “Reform the Food and Drug Administration, to put greater focus on the need of patients for new and innovative medical products,” his health plan states. (Johnson, 11/14)

Donald Trump and his congressional allies are making big plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act and overhaul other government health programs. But the president-elect appears to have downgraded plans to act aggressively to control rising drug prices, handing the pharmaceutical industry an early victory and providing another illustration of the influence of lobbyists on the new Trump administration, despite Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp” of special interests in Washington. (Levey, 11/15)

Americans' growing alarm over rising prescription drug costs will pressure a new U.S. administration and Congress to take action on pharmaceutical pricing, industry executives and healthcare experts say. Drugmaker stocks, battered in recent months, soared this week after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's victory. (Beasley and Clarke, 11/11)

Even with a presumably business-friendly president-elect in Donald Trump, drugmakers that have been battered by criticism over high prices in the past year are bracing for Republican and Democratic lawmakers to take aim at the industry. Although Trump’s brief health plan released last week on his transition’s website doesn’t mention drug prices, he has previously voiced support for having the government negotiate prices in Medicare, and allowing the re-importation of cheaper treatments from other countries -- two proposals the pharmaceutical industry has long opposed. (Edney, 11/14)

The nation's largest physician organization is supporting value-based pricing for medications. The American Medical Association Tuesday announced it supports initiatives “aimed at changing the fundamentals of prescription drug pricing without compromising patient outcomes and access.” Its new policy was adopted at the AMA's interim meeting in Orlando, Fla., over the weekend. The AMA says it “seeks to blunt growing pharmaceutical spending rates” by incorporating a balance of benefits and cost when pricing drugs. The organization believes prices should be set by objective, independent agencies that use evidence and data. Processes to set those prices should be transparent, not burden physicians or patients and maintain affordability for patients, according to the AMA. (Rubenfire, 11/15)

Already under investigation by two federal agencies, the pharmaceutical company at the center of the EpiPen controversy is facing another Northern California-based class-action lawsuit over allegations of price gouging. The complaint against Mylan, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco last week on behalf of San Francisco resident Robin Kozelka and others affected, said the case arises out of “one of the most shocking and cruelest examples of corporate greed in recent memory.” (Seipel, 11/15)

The rising cost of medicines may be a growing problem for many Americans, but a new survey finds that cost is generally not a key factor when doctors decide which treatments to prescribe their patients. Among six different types of doctors queried, only primary care physicians cited cost as among their most important considerations. Forty-seven percent ranked the issue as a key concern, behind evidence that a drug is safe, effective and well-tolerated. (Ed Silverman, 11/15)

The in-house investigator at HHS has released a list of issues it hopes to tackle in 2017, and it shows a heightened focus on drug costs, an issue that has captivated the nation. The HHS Office of Inspector General released its 2017 Work Plan on Friday, which includes its priorities for HHS agencies like the CMS, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. The drug price priority comes after intense public backlash over price hikes of drugs like Turning Pharmaceutical's Daraprim and Mylan Pharmaceutical's EpiPen. (Rubenfire, 11/11)

Seeking to defuse a nasty row, Pfizer has lowered the price of its pneumococcal vaccine to non-governmental organizations that supply poor countries. The company will sell the newest version of its Prevnar 13 vaccine for $3.10 a dose, which means the three-dose treatment to vaccinate a child will cost $9.30. (Silverman, 11/11)

The pharmaceutical industry is regularly chastised for failing to do enough to ensure that people in low and middle-income countries have access to its medicines. Yet the real picture is actually more nuanced, according to a newly released report that finds some — but not all — drug makers are making headway. Some companies, for instance, are partnering to develop needed medicines. Others are pledging to waive or abandon patent rights and granting licenses so that generic versions of their drugs become available. (Silverman, 11/13)

The pharmaceutical giant GSK, which has held first place in the Access to Medicine Index ever since its introduction in 2008, was ranked first again this week. The index measures how well the world’s top 20 pharma companies do at getting their drugs and vaccines — and often their scientific expertise — to the world’s poorest countries. (McNeil, 11/13)

Germany may stiffen up its already strict drug pricing rules, a move that could exacerbate the pharma industry’s sometimes-acrimonious relationship with health officials there. Under a proposal now up for debate by lawmakers, Germany would set a 250 million euro ($268 million) ceiling on new drugs for their first year on the market. As Bloomberg reports, price controls would begin after a product hit that limit. (Tracy Staton, 11/14)