CVS Health launches reduced Rx savings program to give patients access to more affordable medications
CVS Health announced on Thursday (16TH March)that the company will launch Reduced Rx , a prescription savings program that will offer discounts on certain medications through CVS Health’s pharmacy benefits manager, CVS Caremark, directly to patients. The program will help patients with high out of pocket costs afford essential medications. Novo Nordisk will participate in the prescription savings program. Through this program, CVS Health and Novo Nordisk will offer Novolin R , Novolin N and Novolin 70/30 human insulin at a cost of $25 per 10ml vial, which reflects a potential savings of as much as $100 for cash paying patients. “This savings program will leverage CVS Caremark’s expertise in providing lower cost prescription drugs and fulfill our company’s purpose of helping people on their path to better health”, said Jonathan Roberts, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, CVS Health. Reduced Rx will allow patients to purchase medications at a reduced cost at any of the more than 67,000 pharmacies in the CVS Caremark retail network. (CVSHealth)
Policy
Trump begins rollback of Obama’s car pollution standards to curb emissions
Donald Trump has begun the process of rolling back carbon pollution standards for vehicles following a meeting with automakers in Detroit, Michigan. Trump has directed the Environmental Protection Agency to review fuel efficiency standards that were a key plank of Barack Obama’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In an agreement struck with automakers in 2012, the Obama administration required that cars run 54.4 miles per gallon of fuel by 2025. This standard, up from 27.5 miles per gallon, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by saving 2m gallons of oil per day by 2025. Former EPA officials and environmental groups have decried the reversal, pointing out carmakers had complained only to meet the requirements due to the evolution of technology. There are already more than 100 cars that meet standards that stretch beyond 2020, with the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius, Chevrolet Spark and Smart ForTwo already matching the 2025 standard. (Guardian)
Disney says it won’t edit ‘Beauty and the beast’ for Malaysian censors
The Film Censorship Board of Malaysia recently ruled that a shot involving two male characters scene dancing in a ballroom must be cut from “Beauty and the beast”, on the grounds that it promotes homosexuality, meaning the film will not open there Thursday as scheduled. The film, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens and costing $300 million to make and market, is a live-action remake of Disney’s 1991 animated blockbuster of the same name. “The film has not been and will not be cut for Malaysia,” Walt Disney Studios said in a statement Tuesday. Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid, chairman of the censorship board, said it was common for his board to order cuts in movies before they are shown in Malaysia. “If they want to screen it here, they have to comply,” he said. Russia agreed last week to let the film be shown there, but it barred children under 16 from attending unless accompanied by someone over 16. (New York Times)
Supply Chain
Major firms commit to ending deforestation in cocoa supply chains
The Prince of Wales’ International Sustainability Unit (ISU) hosted the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) in a first of its kind meeting on Thursday (16th March), where 12 global companies stated their commitment to developing an action plan to end deforestation and forest degradation in supply chains in time for COP 23 in November. Buyers, producers and traders including Barry Callebaut, Blommer Chocolate Company, Cargill, CEMOI,ECOM, Ferrero, The Hershey Company, Mars Incorporated, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Olam and Touton have all agreed to invest in more sustainable forms of land management, create active partnerships to protect and restore forests and invest in programmes for cocoa productivity that benefits the livelihoods of small-scale cocoa farmers. They will now implement a planning and consultation process with governments, including the Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana which are the world’s leading producers of cocoa, NGOs and stakeholders to build the framework in time for COP 23. (Edie)
Co-op, npower and Mars join green manufacturing drive
Collaboration platform 2degrees has launched the new Manufacture 2030 initiative which enables retailers, brands, energy companies and their manufacturing suppliers to help boost transparency in the supply chain and aid companies’ suppliers and operational managers attempts to improve the performance of factories. The tools include platforms for suppliers and supply chain owners to work together on regulatory compliance as well as cost and risk reduction programs, including specific hubs for collaborative efforts to tackle energy, waste and water use. Founding partners of the service, which has been in development for over a year, include Co-op, npower Business Solutions, Mars Inc. and William Jackson Food Group, with the service aiming to expand globally. Sarah Wakefield, food sustainability manager for Co-op, said joining the service was part of its plans to better support its suppliers and help make them more resilient to climate change. (Business Green)
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