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Back in 2019, when the Senate Finance Committee called seven drug industry executives to testify, it seemed like proof that Washington was within striking distance of actually reining in the industry’s high prices. “It’s past time to get beyond the excuses and make prescription drugs affordable,” Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the committee, told drug makers that day. Almost exactly three years later, Wyden will chair another hearing on prescription drug pricing. But this is not a victory lap, nor an opportunity to look at implementation of the sweeping changes Congress has made to this country’s drug pricing system. Far from it. (Florko, 3/15)

If there’s anything the pandemic has taught us, it’s that we have a lot of excess stuff in our homes — including bottles and bottles of expired or no-longer-needed medications. That’s a problem, according to Elizabeth Skoy, an associate professor at North Dakota State University’s School of Pharmacy. “In recent years, there’s been a spotlight on medication disposal, because of the opioid epidemic,” she said. “It’s important to get rid of any medication when you are done with it to prevent misuse or having it fall into the hands of others.” Plus, having old medications in the home increases the chances of accidental poisoning of children or pets. (Daily, 3/14)

In an unusual move, a prominent shareholder advisory firm is urging investors in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR) not to approve what it calls “excessive” compensation for board members who are not executives at the company. Glass Lewis explained the drugmaker awarded non-executive directors an average annual compensation package — including cash, stock awards, and payments for serving on a special board project — that totaled roughly $446,900, $758,300, and $791,300 in 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. The aggregate compensation levels were above the 90th percentile among companies of a similar size. (Silverman, 3/14)

Nektar Therapeutics said Monday that its experimental immunotherapy failed to provide additional benefit for patients with melanoma when given in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb’s approved treatment Opdivo. The negative trial results cast significant doubt on the future of Nektar’s lead pipeline drug called bempegaldesleukin, which is designed to stimulate T cells in the body of cancer patients, thereby enhancing the tumor-killing power of other immunotherapy treatments. Nektar and Bristol have a long-running partnership that is conducting multiple late-stage clinical trials of a bempeg-Opdivo combination treatment for patients with different types of cancer. (Feuerstein, 3/14)

After quietly raising hundreds of millions of dollars and building a team stacked with genomics pros, Element Biosciences announced on Monday the commercial launch of its new DNA sequencer — and with it, plans to rival industry behemoth Illumina. In a virtual event featuring the company’s leadership and partner organizations, the biotech boasted that its sequencer, Aviti, has the right blend of affordability, accuracy, and flexibility to disrupt the current sequencing landscape. And the startup’s executives — a number of them Illumina alums — say that’s just the beginning, adding that their technology could be adapted to study RNA, proteins, and cells. (Wosen, 3/14)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: Need An Expensive Drug? Here’s What You Need To Know 

Lillian Karabaic teaches personal finance to millennials through a podcast and community called Oh My Dollar! — and she needs an expensive drug to treat a chronic condition. That makes her an expert on one of the most complex arrangements in the American health care system: the copay accumulator. In short, it’s an invention by the insurance industry to make sure only your money counts toward your yearly deductible — not any assistance you might receive from a drug company. (Weissmann, 3/15)