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STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about payments to Russian middlemen, a possible Dupixent rival, and more

By · Via STAT Health · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Investigative reporting reveals that pharmaceutical giants provided excessive financial bonuses to Russian proxies between 2020 and 2023, funneling tens of millions of dollars through intermediaries involved in alleged bid-rigging. This corrupt distribution system kept cancer medication prices elevated and hindered patient access. In the development pipeline, Kymera Therapeutics is preparing to post mid-stage trial results for KT-621, an experimental eczema therapy. Analysts consider this upcoming readout a critical market event that could directly disrupt the current standard of care.

Key points

  • Multinational pharmaceutical companies are under pressure regarding compliance after funn…: Multinational pharmaceutical companies are under pressure regarding compliance after funneling tens of millions of dollars to controversial Russian intermediaries.
  • The corrupt proxy bidding structure in Russia actively harmed cancer patients by reducing…: The corrupt proxy bidding structure in Russia actively harmed cancer patients by reducing treatment access and artificially keeping prices high.
  • The upcoming KT-621 clinical trial readout represents a potentially disruptive competitiv…: The upcoming KT-621 clinical trial readout represents a potentially disruptive competitive threat to the leading immunology medication Dupixent.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

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Four big drugmakers paid tens of millions of dollars to proxies to supply lifesaving drugs to Russian government entities as part of a corrupt system that helped keep prices high and limit access for cancer patients and others with serious ailments, The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reports. Whistleblower reports allege that between 2020 and 2023, Merck (known as MSD outside of the U.S.), Eli Lilly, Novartis, and AstraZeneca paid “excessive” bonuses to a company called R-Pharm and other intermediaries in Russia, even as the middlemen participated in…

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