Behind the Counter

Anna Yeo
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Behind the Counter
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STAT: Behind the Counter

Behind the Counter is STAT’s video series about the role of patents and public health in drug pricing.
I produced, animated, and edited this series at STAT.

Part 1: Innovation vs. Accessibility
Prescription drugs in the U.S. are expensive to develop and difficult to afford. How do we balance the demands of the pharmaceutical industry with the needs of patients?

Part 2: Pharmacy Benefit Managers What are pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs? How do formularies and rebates work? How do PBMs use them to mediate with drugmakers, health insurers, and pharmacies in ways that influence the cost of drugs?

Part 3: Drug Patents
How does the United States Patent and Trademark Office grant patents to drugmakers?

Part 4: The Hatch-Waxman Act
How do we balance the demands of the pharmaceutical industry with the needs of patients? Learn about the 1984 law that tried to even things out with drug patents — and is still responsible for the way generic drugs are regulated today.

Part 5: Patent Thickets
When a drug patent expires, does a drug’s price goes down? Depending on the type of drug, the number of patents it has, and its placement on health insurance formularies, seeing a meaningful change in the list price of a drug can take anywhere from a few years to almost a decade.