After putting two generics together and then getting the product approved for a new indication, NitroMed priced its new drug above expectations. But will the old-style pricing strategy hold up in a managed care world?

Mispricing in Europe--pricing the new therapy too high compared to perceived incremental value than the older therapy--has been a key reason that new classes of drugs haven't achieved their volume objectives. Successful follow-on classes like statins and proton pump inhibitors have kept their European prices relatively close to the costs of the previous therapies; less successful ones, like the glitazones, have not.

Senate Finance confirmation hearing concluded without a vote on Xavier Becerra’s nomination as Health and Human Services Department secretary. Republicans continued to express concerns with his background and views. But he is expected to win enough votes to clear the committee.