Tom Norton

Tom Norton is Principal at NHD Smart Communications of Illinois, Inc.

Articles by Tom Norton

Even though pharma's “dark days” are fading away, the chill of the last few months will not soon be forgotten, writes Tom Norton.

As that nation heads towards its first presidential primaries of the 2016 election, pharmaceutical executives should take a few minutes to consider where the leading candidates stand on U.S. Rx policy. Tom Norton takes a look.

Hillary Clinton has been a part of the healthcare debate since the early 90's. Tom Norton analyzes her career of positions on drug price control and what it could mean for her candidacy.

The issue of drug price controls in public prescription programs has long been a point of contention. But today, writes Tom Norton, as several historical and contemporary factors continue to line up, we may be on a pathway to changing that.

For the 17 states that set up their own state exchanges under Obamacare, finding ways to manage a couple aspects of the new law are turning 2015 into a “Year of Harsh Realities.” Tom Norton explains why.

At first glance Obamacare developments for the American Rx industry in 2015 appear fairly benign. However, digging deeper suggests that each, in its own way, could cause various actions with potential for substantial uncertainty for the U.S. pharmaceutical industry next year. If your response to this profound observation was, “Really, what’s new?” - read on.

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While flipping through my emails recently, I froze before an image that appeared on my screen. An old Rx colleague had sent me a graph, mapping out the 2014 U.S. sales achieved by Gilead’s Hep C drug, Sovaldi. It was stunning.

It’s fall and the 2015 Obamacare Exchange Rx insurance offerings will be presented to patients on November 15th. But at this point, what insights do American Rx brand managers and marketers actually have on the results of the Obamacare Rx experience in 2014?

In the wake of last week’s declaration by new HHS Secretary, Sylvia Burwell, that “Obamacare is working”, it’s probably time for American Rx product managers and marketers to step back and consider where we have travelled since January 1st of this year.

As the “Saga of Sovaldi” continues to unfold in the U.S., and Congress, insurers, providers, and the U.S. Rx manufacturer, Gilead, hurl charges back and forth at each other, it’s pretty clear the situation will only continue to deteriorate.

As the "Sovaldi Saga" unfolds in the U.S., it's clear the situation will only deteriorate. But north of the border, it's striking how Canadian healthcare entities are managing a similar Sovaldi situation, writes Tom Norton.

So, we’ve experienced two months of Obamacare. How is the U.S. pharmaceutical industry doing with this new program? I spent two weeks getting the opinions of several Rx representatives on their experience with Obamacare, as well as their thoughts on how it is impacting their marketing, sales, and R&D planning for 2014 and beyond.

For more than three years, the US pharmaceutical industry has known that today would arrive. So this is it. The first day that eligible U.S. citizens can sign up for Obamacare - and enjoy the prospect of prescription drug insurance, effective January 1st, 2014.

This past week or so, with Obamacare’s start up less than a year away, we have been treated to several entertaining vignettes as the nation’s governors begin to wrestle with the realities of the new healthcare law.

With the general election behind us, the anticipated avalanche of ObamaCare regulations has begun. Last week, it was reported that more than 13,000 pages of rules and regulations have been issued by HHS since Nov. 6th

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