Becker's Hospital Review

19 CFO / FINANCE 20 most expensive prescription drugs in 2021 By Katie Adams B elow is a list of the 20 most expensive prescription drugs in the U.S., based on the official price their manufac- turer assigned to them, as compiled by pre- scription discount company GoodRx. is list excludes medications that must be ad- ministered by a healthcare practitioner. 1. Zokinvy (Eiger BioPharmaceuticals): $86,040 2. Myalept (Aegerion Pharmaceuticals): $74,159 3. Mavenclad (EMD Serono): $60,371 4. Ravicti (Horizon erapeutics): $57,998 5. Actimmune (Horizon erapeutics): $55,310 6. Oxervate (Dompé): $48,498 7. Takhzyro (Takeda): $46,828 8. Juxtapid (Aegerion Pharmaceuticals): $46,502 9. Cinryze (Takeda): $45,465 10. Chenodal (Travere erapeutics): $42,570 11. Gattex (Takeda): $41,664 12. H.P. Acthar (Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuti- cals): $39,864 13. Orladeyo (BioCryst Pharmaceuticals): $37,308 14. Tegsedi (Akcea erapeutics): $35,638 15. Ayvakit (Blueprint Medicines): $33,568 16. Vitrakvi (Bayer Pharmaceuticals): $32,800 17. Qinlock (Decipera Pharmaceuticals): $32,000 18. Korlym (Corcept erapeutics): $31,440 19. Cerdelga (Genzyme): $28,599 20. Idhifa (Celgene): $28,246 n LifePoint in talks to acquire 30-hospital system, Wall Street Journal reports By Alia Paavola B rentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health is in talks to buy Ardent Health Ser- vices, a 30-hospital network based in Nashville, Tenn., according to a Feb. 11 report in The Wall Street Journal. The deal would create an entity worth $10 billion, including debt. It would value Ardent Health at more than $2 billion, according to people familiar with the talks who spoke to the Journal. LifePoint, which is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, would purchase Ardent Health from Equity Group Investments, which became the owner of Ardent in 2015. Ardent Health operates acute care hospitals and clinics in growing urban and suburban areas in six states. LifePoint operates more than 80 hospitals in mainly rural communities across the U.S. If the deal is reached, it would be a move by LifePoint to diversify into larger hos- pitals and clinics in densely populated areas, according to the report. The people familiar with the potential deal said the companies have been in on- and-off talks and may not reach an agreement. n Boxed out of Elk Grove, California university eyes new location for teaching hospital By Alia Paavola C alifornia Northstate University is eying Rancho Cordova, Calif., as a poten- tial site for its teaching hospital after being denied approval to build it in Elk Grove, Calif. The Elk Grove Planning Commission rejected the university's proposal to build the hospital in Elk Grove Feb. 18 and voted to send that recommendation of de- nial to the full city council. In its decision, the planning commission cited issues with the location of the facility. Days after the project was unanimously rejected, the university said it was paus- ing activity related to the Elk Grove hospital approval process and reevaluating the project as a whole. However, the university is now in talks with a different Northern California city to build the facility. Talks with Rancho Cordova officials are in early stages, according to a March 10 news release. But if the facility is built, it would be the city's first hospital. Officials also said the value of the project could reach $1.2 billion. "Building a hospital in Rancho Cordova has long been a desire of the city coun- cil, and we are excited to be exploring that possibility with California Northstate University," Rancho Cordova Mayor Garrett Gatewood said in a March 10 news release. n

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