May 8, 2017

PhRMA might boot members that jack up drug prices

Shane Savitsky

Gilles Mingasson / AP Images for AIDS Healthcare Foundation

PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry's primary lobbying group, is expected to institute new membership rules designed to force out smaller companies that don't invest in drug research, per Bloomberg.

The new rules: In order to remain a part of PhRMA, drug companies will have to spend at least $200 million per year on research over a three-year average. They'll also have to spend at least 10% of their annual global sales on research.

Why it matters: This is PhRMA's way of trying to get rid of smaller companies that mostly buy older drugs and jack up the prices. You might remember the controversy surrounding Marathon Pharmaceutical's choice earlier this year to charge $89,000 for a muscular dystrophy drug that cost less than $2,000 abroad.

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World coronavirus updates: Confirmed cases top 1.2 million

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

The number of novel coronavirus cases surpassed 1.2 million worldwide Saturday night, as Spain overtook Italy as the country with the most infections outside the U.S.

The big picture: About half the planet's population is now on lockdown and the global death toll was nearing 64,800, by Sunday morning, per Johns Hopkins data.

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U.S. coronavirus updates: Death toll surpasses 8,500

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Recorded deaths from the coronavirus surpassed 8,500 in the U.S. early Sunday, per Johns Hopkins data. The death toll in the U.S. has risen over 1,000 every day for the past four days, since April 1.

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2:30 a.m. ET: 1,203,485 — Total deaths: 64,784 — Total recoveries: 247,001 — Map.
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  4. 2020 latest: "We have no contingency plan," Trump said on the 2020 Republican National Convention. "We're having the convention at the end of August."
  5. Business updates: Restaurants step up for health care workers. Employees are pressuring companies to provide protections during coronavirus.
  6. Oil latest: Monday meeting among oil-producing countries to discuss supply curbs is reportedly being delayed amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
  7. Education update: Many college-age students won't get coronavirus relief checks.
  8. 1 🏀 thing: The WNBA postpones start of training camps and season.
  9. What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health. Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  10. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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