BridgeBio Pharma, a Palo Alto, California-based drug company focused on genetic diseases, raised $299 million in new funding. KKR and Viking Global co-led and were joined by fellow return backers Perceptive Advisors, AIG, Aisling Capital, Cormorant Capital and Hercules Capital. New investor Sequoia Capital also participated.
Why it matters: Its primary product is other biotech companies, using a "hub-and-spoke" model that already has formed such subsidiaries as Eidos Therapeutics (IPO'd last year), QED Therapeutics (launched with $65 million in funding to develop a Novartis drug) and PellePharma (signed $70 million deal with LEO Pharma that could be worth another $700 million).
A new report by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association says spending on planned knee and hip replacements is increasing, driven mainly by an increase in the number of procedures among people under 65.
By the numbers: The number of knee replacements increased by 17% between 2010 and 2017, and hip replacements rose by 33%.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker wants to move closer to direct price-setting for certain high-cost drugs, CommonWealth magazine reports, citing Baker's latest budget proposal.
Why it matters: Hey, does anybody remember what became of the last big health care reform from a moderate Republican governor of Massachusetts? Did that end up catching on anywhere else?
Surprise medical bills are on President Trump's radar, as yesterday's White House roundtable on health care costs made clear.
One big quote: "Patients should know ... the real price and what’s going on with the real prices of procedures. Because they don’t know," Trump said. "They go in, they have a procedure, and then all of a sudden, they can’t afford it. They had no idea it was so bad."
The pharmaceutical industry's 2 leading trade groups both set records for lobbying spending in 2018 — a sign of just how much the industry believes is on the line in the political battle over drug prices.
By the numbers: PhRMA, the industry's largest trade organization, spent $27.5 million on lobbying last year, per Bloomberg. That's the most it has ever spent in 1 year. A full $10 million of that came in the first quarter — the most PhRMA has ever spent in a single quarter.
The amount that people with Type 1 diabetes spent on insulin, before subtracting rebates and discounts, doubled from 2012 to 2016 while daily insulin use mostly stayed flat, according to a report from the Health Care Cost Institute, which analyzed health insurance claims from that time span.
The big picture: There are some limitations with the report's data. Regardless, insulin prices and out-of-pocket costs have enraged diabetic patients and parents, who have been at the forefront of the drug pricing debate by explaining how difficult it is to obtain the life-or-death medication.
