CMS proposes limits on anemia drugs

Medicare on Monday proposed limiting coverage of the anemia medicinesthat are the backbone of Amgen Inc.’s historically stellar growth,accounting for almost half of the Thousand Oaks (CA) company’s sales.  IfMedicare follows through on its proposal, sales of the drugs, whichhave been slipping in recent months, would most certainly suffer. TheCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ acting administrator,Leslie Norwalk, estimated that federal reimbursements would fall by asmuch as 10%. “The safety of our Medicare beneficiaries is paramount,” Norwalk saidin an interview. “We are ensuring that members only get medications anddosages that are necessary and beneficial.”  Medicarespends more on the anemia medications, which are taken by more than 1million people every year, than on any other drug. The agency startedits review after the Food and Drug Administration in March added a”black-box warning” to the drugs, advising doctors to prescribe them attheir lowest possible doses and only to approved patients.

Source:  Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amgen15may15,1,5715346.story?ctrack=1&cset=true