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Impatient with years of inaction in Washington on prescription drug costs, U.S. hospital groups, startups and nonprofits have started making their own medicines in a bid to combat stubbornly high prices and persistent shortages of drugs with little competition. The efforts are at varying stages, but some have already made and shipped millions of doses. Nearly half of U.S. hospitals have gotten some drugs from the projects and more medicines should be in retail pharmacies within the next year as the work accelerates. Most groups are working on generics, while at least one is trying to develop brand-name drugs. All aim to sell their drugs at prices well below what competitors charge. (Johnson, 8/10)

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has accused large health insurers of using a biologic drug shortage as a means to push patients into using biosimilars for a common retina disease, even though the drugs haven't been tested for that use. The San Francisco-based lobbying group called on seven health insurers to stop recommending the use of two biosimilars for Genentech USA's Avastin, a biologic drug used to treat eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and some cancers. The industry group has asked CMS to stop insurers from pressuring patients to take biosimilars Zirabev from Pfizer and Mvasi from Amgen for age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in individuals over 60 and affects approximately 15 million people in the U.S. (Tepper, 8/5)

Drug utilization management such as prior authorization and stricter formularies cost the healthcare industry $93 billion annually, with patients bearing the largest share of the cost, a new study found. The study, published Monday in the journal Health Affairs, found that intense use of drug utilization measures has led to patients spending $35.8 billion a year in cost sharing. (King, 8/4)

GoodRx struck a deal with medication data giant Surescripts to provide doctors and clinicians with more information about the cash price of drugs at the point of care. The partnership will significantly expand GoodRx's footprint as Surescripts has relationships with most electronic health record (EHR) vendors. The deal also expands the information healthcare providers have on cash pay drug pricing information. (Landi, 8/6)

“They want to repeal a protection in Medicare that protects access to my medicines. They call it negotiation, but it really means the government decides what medicines I can get.”— Sue from Ohio, who says she had Type 1 diabetes, speaking in a television advertisement sponsored by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). This ad is appearing in heavy rotation on cable news networks and during public-affairs programs like CBS’s “Face the Nation” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” It’s part of a PhRMA initiative called “Voters for Cures,” which features the voices of ordinary Americans. (Kessler, 8/10)