Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`/
`
`M AY 10, 2012 @ 09:54 AM
`
`52,298 VIEW S
`
`Top 20 Stocks for 2016
`
`M atthew H erper
`,FO RBES STAFF
`I cover science and
`m edicine, and believe this is
`biology's century.
`
`FO LLO W O N FO RBES (2081)
`
`
`FU LL BIO
`
`The free market is alive and
`well when it comes to drug
`prices – if you’re an insurance
`company or a government
`program. But not if you’re a
`consumer.
`
`Top-selling pharmaceuticals,
`protected by patents, often
`
`1 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 1
`
`
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`/
`
`M AY 10, 2012 @ 09:54 AM
`
`52,298 VIEW S
`
`Top 20 Stocks for 2016
`
`M atthew H erper
`,FO RBES STAFF
`I cover science and
`m edicine, and believe this is
`biology's century.
`
`FO LLO W O N FO RBES (2081)
`
`
`FU LL BIO
`
`The free market is alive and
`well when it comes to drug
`prices – if you’re an insurance
`company or a government
`program. But not if you’re a
`consumer.
`
`Top-selling pharmaceuticals,
`protected by patents, often
`
`1 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 1
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`seem priced in a manner that
`has little to do with the laws of
`supply and demand. Want that
`new cholesterol medicine
`($2,000 per year), that cancer
`treatment ($60,000 per year)
`, or the medicine for your
`child’s rare disease ($300,000
`per year)? No negotiation. It’s
`your money or your life.
`
`Recom m ended by Forbes
`
`EYVoice: 7 Ways
`To Build Your
`Leadership Skills
`In 2016
`
`Fidelity
`401(k)s
`Estates:
`You Nee
`Know
`
`But in fact drug companies are
`constantly negotiating, not
`with individuals but with
`payers – Medicare, Medicaid,
`insurers such as United Health
`Care and Aetna
` and
`AET -4.81%
`pharmacy benefit plans such
`as Express Scripts
`.
`ESRX -7.59%
`They don’t reduce the price of
`their medicines. Instead, the
`drug firms pay rebates after
`the fact. For Medicaid, the
`price decreases are mandated
`by law, but everywhere else,
`free market forces are very
`much in effect. Me too drugs
`and those facing patent
`expiration have to deal with
`bigger rebates. Drug firms
`
`2 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 2
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`annual price increases are partly a way to deal with all this rebating.
`Of course, if you’re a person without health insurance buying
`medicines at the counter of Walgreen
`‘s, you’re stuck with the
`list price.
`
`W AG +%
`
`Rebates cut about $40 billion out of the drug industry’s sales every
`year, says Pratap Khedkar, a principal at pharma marketing
`consultancy ZS Associates. We know that because the drug industry
`reports both its gross sales (before the rebates) and net sales (after
`the rebates are taken out). The size of the rebate average about 30%
`of a medicines sales, Khedkar says, and can be as low as single digits
`or as higher than 50% of gross sales.
`
`“These may not be visible to the consumer,” says Khedkar. “But
`between the insurance company and the pharma company, it is a very
`efficient free market.”
`
`W hat D rug Com panies G ive Back
`D rug
`IM S estim ated
`Com pany
`U.S. sales
`reported U.S.
`($Bil)
`Sales ($Bil)
`
`Estim ated
`rebates (% )
`
`Lipitor
`Plavix
`N exium
`Abilify
`Advair
`Seroquel
`
`$7.7
`$6.8
`$6.2
`$5.2
`$4.6
`$4.6
`
`$5.0
`$6.6
`$2.4
`$4.0
`$4.0
`$3.3
`
`$3.5
`$4.6
`Singulair
`$3.1
`$4.4
`Crestor
`$3.2
`$3.7
`Cym balta
`$3.4
`$3.5
`H um ira
`Sources: IM S H ealth, com pany statem ents, analyst reports
`
`35%
`3%
`61%
`24%
`13%
`27%
`
`23%
`30%
`14%
`2%
`
`No company reports how much of the gross sales of an individual
`drug are being given back to the payers. But there is a way to peer
`into the hidden world of pharma rebates. Every year, IMS Health, the
`prescription data tracking service, publishes its own lists of the most
`prescribed and the top-selling medicines in the country. But IMS’
`data capture gross sales at pharmacies, before the rebates happen. By
`comparing the gross sales reported by IMS to the sales the companies
`report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, it’s possible to get
`an idea of how much of a medicine’s gross sales are being given back
`
`3 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 3
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`in the form of rebates.
`
`22
`
`Com m ent on this story
`
`PAGE 1 / 2
`
`
`
`Continue
`
`
`Report Corrections
`
`Reprints & Perm issions
`
`SEE ALSO
`BENICAR ONLINE SALE
`
`LOCAL HEALTH CLINICS
`
`WALMART MEDICATION
`
`HOME REMEDIES
`
`GENERIC LEXAPRO COST
`
`PHARMACY TECHNICIAN
`
`HEALTH INSURANCE
`
`LOCAL PHARMACY
`
`From the Web
`
`Ads by Revcontent
`
`Remove Your
`Eye Bags In
`Under 2
`
`Forget the
`iPhone 7. Next
`Apple Sensation
`
`Ever Googled
`Someone? Do A
`"Deep Search"
`
`Women: 5
`Veggies That
`Kill Stomach Fat
`
`Forget
`Pensions! 11
`Rules for
`
`Buffett’s
`Warning: 4.5M
`Americans Own
`
`10 Online
`Dating Sites
`That Really
`
`Democrats Will
`Bury This Video
`If They Want To
`
`4 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 4
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`/
`
`JAN 13, 2016 @ 08:49 AM
`
`5,813 VIEW S
`
`Top 20 Stocks for 2016
`
`Peter Kelly-
`D etw iler
`, CO N TRIBU TO R
`I cover the energy industry.
`
`FO LLO W O N FO RBES (227)
`
`
`O pinions expressed by Forbes
`Contributors are their ow n.
`
`FU LL BIO
`
`2015 was a very big year for
`battery storage in the
`electricity industry. Numerous
`storage projects were
`announced, many start-ups
`expanded their reach, and
`
`5 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 5
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`Tesla unveiled its PowerWall
`to much pomp and
`circumstance.
`
`Almost lost in the noise were
`the statements of some very
`large and established
`companies that they were also
`moving into the storage space.
`Sharp and Johnson Controls
`announced their storage
`ambitions early in the fourth
`quarter of 2015, and with deep
`pockets and strong name
`recognition, each has
`enormous potential throw-
`weight in the industry if they
`make the right moves.
`
`And right at the end of the year
`in – the middle of the COP 21
`meetings in Paris – Schneider
`Electric introduced its own
`promising scalable lithium-ion
`based storage system:
`EcoBlade.
`
`Like most lithium-ion storage
`systems for the grid and
`commercial/industrial
`customers, the EcoBlade is
`modular, so that building
`blocks can be configured to
`meet specific needs. However,
`what makes this storage
`system different is its form
`factor, size and shape: it is
`nearly identical to an IT server
`computer. The design derives
`
`6 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 6
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`from Schneider Electric’s extensive experience serving the IT
`industry. The EcoBlade system contains ‘blades’ much like those
`stacked in a server rack. According to Schneider Electric’s press
`release, each of these blades weighs less than 25 kilograms
`(approximately 55 pounds) and is similar in shape to a 30” flat screen
`television.
`
`Image: Schneider Electric – for your home
`
`And while a single blade has the electronics necessary to allow it to
`serve in standalone mode – in a home, for example – the blades can
`also be stacked in racks to yield the capacity and energy required for
`heavy-duty use in datacenters and buildings, or for service to the
`power grid at substations.
`
`As with any storage system, though, the batteries are simply the
`repositories for electrons. They don’t know what to do, or when to do
`it –when to charge and discharge – without a supervisory function
`overseeing their activity. In Schneider Electric’s case, this intelligence
`comes in a cloud-based suite of software services called
`StruxureWare, which integrates multiple information feeds to
`optimize the EcoBlade’s performance.
`
`7 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 7
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`Recom m ended by Forbes
`
`IBMVoice: Four
`Ways The
`Internet Of
`Things Will
`Innovate The
`Retail Industry
`
`FidelityVoice:
`Top 10
`Viewpoints Of
`2015
`
`That compares very favorably with current estimates for competing
`technologies. For example, a 10 kWh Tesla Powerwall from Solar City
`costs $3,500, but if you add in the cost of inverter and labor, with full
`installation costs you are in the range of $7,100, or $710 per kWh
`(Solar City also offers its lease or Power Purchase Agreement
`customers a nine-year contract for $4,000). Schneider Electric’s
`$500/kWh installed price also compares very favorably with the most
`recent estimates from Lux Research, at around $800 per kWh. At
`present, the installed cost of the EcoBlade would be among the lowest
`in the industry.
`
`Com m ent on this story
`
`PAGE 1 / 2
`
`
`
`Continue
`
`
`Report Corrections
`
`Reprints & Perm issions
`
`SEE ALSO
`SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC SA
`
`APC BY SCHNEIDER
`
`CAREERS AT SCHNEIDER
`
`BEST LUXURY CAR LEASE
`
`ENERGY ELECTRIC
`
`TESLA STOCK PRICE
`
`SQUARE D BY SCHNEIDER
`
`BEST CAR YOUR MONEY CAN
`
`From the Web
`
`Ads by Revcontent
`
`8 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 8
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`Remove Your
`Eye Bags In
`Under 2
`
`Forget the
`iPhone 7. Next
`Apple Sensation
`
`Ever Googled
`Someone? Do A
`"Deep Search"
`
`Women: 5
`Veggies That
`Kill Stomach Fat
`
`Forget
`Pensions! 11
`Rules for
`
`Buffett’s
`Warning: 4.5M
`Americans Own
`
`10 Online
`Dating Sites
`That Really
`
`Democrats Will
`Bury This Video
`If They Want To
`
`9 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 9
`
`
`
`Inside The Secret World Of Drug Company Rebates - Forbes
`
`http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/05/10/why-astrazeneca...
`
`10 of 10
`
`1/14/2016 1:03 AM
`
`Page 10
Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.
After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.
Accept $ Charge
Still Working On It
This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.
Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.
A few More Minutes ... Still Working
It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.
Thank you for your continued patience.
This document could not be displayed.
We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
Set your membership
status to view this document.
With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll
get a whole lot more, including:
- Up-to-date information for this case.
- Email alerts whenever there is an update.
- Full text search for other cases.
- Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.
One Moment Please
The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.
Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.
Your document is on its way!
If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.
Sealed Document
We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.
If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.
Access Government Site
