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The big drug industry trade groups PhRMA and BIO are still on track to spend a record amount this year lobbying the federal government — even though neither took a position on the unsuccessful Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the summer’s most hotly contested pieces of legislation. The two groups have collectively spent more than $26 million lobbying Congress and the executive branch in the first nine months of this year, the most since at least 2008, when organizations began to report their quarterly lobbying spending. By comparison, during the eight years of the Obama administration, the two trade groups collectively spent an average of $21 million on lobbying in the first nine months of the year. (Robbins, 10/23)

President Donald Trump is considering launching a bipartisan task force to investigate the rising cost of prescription drugs, sources with knowledge of the discussion say. The announcement could come as early as next week, but the sources caution that discussions remain in the early stages and are still fluid. They say it could be part of an expected announcement on the opioid crisis that Trump hinted at earlier this week. (Williams, 10/20)

As Merck product sales shift, the drug maker is cutting 1,800 U.S. sales reps, mostly people who call on primary doctors who prescribe cardiovascular, respiratory, and diabetes medicines. A Merck spokeswoman confirmed the move, which was disclosed to Merck employees on Thursday and is expected to be completed by early January 2018. But she declined to say how much money the drug maker expects to save. She also declined to say how many sales reps are employed in the U.S. overall. Globally, Merck currently employs about 69,000 people, including 26,500 in the U.S. (Silverman, 10/20)

Judging by the latest pricing data, Robert Hugin is still getting away with murder. Last January, the Celgene (CELG) chief executive sat alongside President Trump at a widely covered White House meeting to discuss pharmaceutical issues. The gathering was held shortly after Trump claimed drug makers are “getting away with murder” over their prices. And four months earlier, Allergan (AGN) chief executive Brent Saunders challenged other companies to hold their annual price hikes to single digits. So what does Hugin do? (Silverman, 10/24)

Big pharma companies signed on to two big-name cancer efforts—the NIH’s Cancer Moonshot and celebrity-heavy charity Stand Up 2 Cancer—that just might help burnish their industry’s standing. Both cancer research groups are respected and popular causes with high-powered endorsements from well-known politicians, celebrities and researchers. But can that good will rub off onto pharma? Wendy Blackburn, executive vice president at Intouch Solutions, said the partnerships are “a smart move” by the pharma companies. (Bulik, 10/23)

Over the past three years, state Medicaid programs have done a much better job of disclosing information about access to expensive hepatitis C medicines and fewer are restricting treatment to patients, according to a new analysis. In 2014, 12 states did not make public their criteria for treatment, but all 50 states now do so (although one state, New Jersey, does not disclose specifics for treating different stages of the disease). And in the past three years, 17 states dropped restrictions to access based on a patient’s stage of liver disease, which has been a key test for determining treatment. In 2014, all 50 states had restrictions. (Silverman, 10/23)

In recent years, doctors nationwide have lamented ever-rising drug prices that are limiting patient access to crucial medicines and undermining hospital finances. But a ballot initiative in Ohio is flipping that script. Several prominent physician and hospital groups are joining pharmaceutical companies to oppose a proposal to rein in drug costs paid by state agencies. (Ross, 10/19)

Novartis AG plans to give its ailing Alcon eye-care division an additional year and a half to rebound before deciding whether to spin it off. The business is starting to show signs of a turnaround and “has the potential to grow sales at or above market while delivering profitability at least in line with the industry,” the Basel, Switzerland-based drugmaker said in a statement Tuesday as it reported its first quarterly profit increase in almost three years. (Paton, 10/24)

Back when the year began, the prospect of U.S. tax reform had pharma companies salivating for some M&A action. But with that reform still absent, drugmakers have put on the brakes instead. Dealmaking in 2017 has so far seen a slowdown, tallying $207.6 billion across 1,040 deals in the pharma, medical and biotech sector, a new Mergermarket report (PDF) said. That's a 9.9% dip in value and 106 fewer transactions compared with the same period last year. (Helfand, 10/20)

Biogen’s Spinraza, a treatment for the rare and deadly spinal muscular atrophy, got off to a record-setting start, but U.S. growth is already waning, three quarters into the commercial launch. Spinraza U.S. sales totaled $198 million in the third quarter, almost flat compared to the second quarter, setting off alarms among investors. Biogen’s shares are down 7 percent on Tuesday morning following the biotech firm’s third-quarter earnings report. Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), which received royalties on Spinraza sales, fell 13.5 percent. (Feuerstein and Garde, 10/24)

Procter & Gamble may bid to acquire the consumer health business that big-pharma player Pfizer said this month it is reviewing for possible sale, one Wall Street analyst says. The New York-based pharmaceutical company, which is looking to grow its core business, disclosed on Oct. 10 it was considering "strategic alternatives" for its non-prescription business that does $3.4 billion in annual sales. (Coolidge, 10/24)

Evan Greebel, a lawyer who once advised Martin Shkreli, went on trial this week on charges that he helped Shkreli defraud the company he founded, Retrophin Inc. Greebel’s first hurdle is to distance himself from Shkreli. In opening statements on Friday, Greebel’s lawyer told jurors that the 44-year-old father of three and Shkreli, a former biotech executive notorious for aggressive drug-pricing tactics, were as "different as two people can be." Greebel was by no means Shkreli’s "right-hand man," defense lawyer Reed Brodsky told jurors at the trial in Brooklyn, New York. (Smythe, 10/20)

Even as pricing pressure on its diabetes portfolio led Eli Lilly to cut 3,500 jobs by year-end, the drugmaker today said it is moving forward with a $72 million upgrade to its insulin manufacturing, part of an $850 million outlay it had expected to make this year on capital projects. Lilly will replace an existing insulin vial filling line at its site in Indianapolis, where it has its headquarters. It said the project will help it meet demand for Humalog, Humulin and other insulins, and put in place new technology for pipeline projects. (Palmer, 10/23)

In response to rising drug costs, advocacy groups in the U.K. are pushing the government to make medicines that are developed with taxpayer funds more accessible. And in a new report, they suggest the U.K. government take steps that activists in the U.S. have also begun to demand. Specifically, the U.K. groups argue the government ought to require drug makers to disclose R&D costs and licensing terms for medicines that are discovered with taxpayer money. Licenses should include provisions that somehow guarantee patient access. And prices should not automatically be linked to R&D costs incurred by companies. (Silverman, 10/23)