Express Scripts says prescription drug spending slowed in 2016

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Express Scripts says prescription drug spending slowed in 2016

(Reuters) - Express Scripts Holding Co, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the United States, said prescription drug spending for its members slowed to less than 4 percent in 2016, at a time when scrutiny of drug price hikes has intensified. Prescription benefit managers (PBMs) negotiate drug benefits for health plans and employers, and have in recent years taken an increasingly aggressive stance in price negotiations with drugmakers. Per-person spending on prescription drugs increased 3.8 percent in 2016, compared with the 5.2 percent increase in 2015, according to Express Scripts' drug trend report on Monday.

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New GlaxoSmithKline CEO prepares for R&D choices, potential deals

Emma Walmsley, GlaxoSmithKline's incoming CEO, will take over Britain's biggest drugmaker at a challenging time but the 47-year-old also inherits the flexibility to do deals and make key choices on new drugs. Just four days before Walmsley moves into the top job on April 1, U.S. regulators could approve the first substitutable generic version of GSK's inhaled lung drug Advair, which has raked in more than a $1 billion in sales every year since 2001. Walmsley is expected to formally present her strategic vision for the company in the summer.

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