Admittedly, I knew little about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or, more commonly, Lou Gehrig’s disease) until quite recently when a friend’s friend received the horrible diagnosis. On average, survival is 2-5 years and it’s a terrible way to go. What’s…
Sacramento Insulin prices are rising, so the state has announced a plan to “explore ways to contract and manufacture our own insulin to reduce costs,” according to a tweet in January from Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Insulin should not drain your…
With some pundits advocating for price controls to fight inflation, it suddenly feels like the 1970s again. This type of overbearing intervention has never worked as marketed, something President Richard Nixon discovered in 1973 when he lifted the wage and…
Washington As readers of this column have noted, I am a reluctant advocate of masks to deal with the pandemic. Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has now spoken out favorably and cogently…
Most industrialized nations other than the U.S. impose price-control regimes on prescription drugs. As a result, patients in those countries have less access to newer medicines and lifesaving benefits than patients in America. Unfortunately, if Speaker Nancy Pelosi has her…
When President Trump talked on the campaign trail about reducing regulations, Washington yawned. Presidents, especially Republicans, were always promising this and never delivering. But 2018 saw fewer regulations initiated and fewer pages added to the Federal Register than any year…
Patents are one of the most miraculous legal inventions of the modern age: with a stroke of a pen, an idea that can save lives, or move mountains, can become a source of prosperity not just for the world, but…
For years America’s drugmakers relied on Republicans to protect them. Democrats led the campaign for price controls and other restrictions. So the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, the major industry association, worked closely with the GOP to…
A bill pending in Congress would effectively serve as government-sanctioned theft and could prevent the development of future life-saving medications. H.R. 6505, The Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act, introduced by Texas Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett last month, would allow…