What We’re Reading: Spy Balloon’s Impact on Drug Supply; Centene Settles Medicaid Overbilling Case; Pharma Deals Could Rise

US-China Medical Supply Chain Fears Arise After Spy Balloon Retrieval

The retrieval of a probable Chinese surveillance balloon has incited worry about the effect on the US-Chinese medical supply chain, according to reports. The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, citing another report in Scrip, noted that FDA inspections of Chinese manufacturing plants were suspended during COVID lockdowns and the political fallout from the balloon incident may delay their resumption, even though China has ended its zero-COVID policy. The United States relies on overseas drug manufacturing, with 18 of 21 vital antibiotics and 72% of its active drug ingredients coming from abroad.

Centene to Pay California $215 Million to Settle Alleged Medicaid Overbilling

Centene Corp. will fork over more than $215 million to California due to its Medicaid drug pricing practices, the biggest payout by the country’s largest Medicaid insurer, according to Kaiser Health News. California is at least the 17th state to settle pharmacy billing claims at $939 million with Centene. State investigators discovered that Centene’s subsidiaries reported inflated drug costs and fees of prescription drugs from January 2017 to December 2018 for patients in Medi-Cal. As in previous settlements, the company denied wrongdoing.

Pfizer, Novartis, Merck Officials Scouring for New Drug Deals

Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co., and Novartis AG executives are conducting a search for new drugs in hopes that they will replace pharmaceuticals coming off patent-protected status in the next years, reported The Wall Street Journal. AbbVie Inc. is stretching its formerly self-mandated budget of $2 billion for new product acquisitions, adding more evidence that 2023 will be a year of fresh product deals. Less expensive competitors are estimated to cost drugmakers around $110 billion in sales between this year and 2030 due to dwindling patent exclusivity, estimate JPMorgan Chase & Co.