Medicare Part D — delivering prescription drugs to seniors — has been a success since President Bush introduced it. And the Obama administration plans to threaten that achievement.

Perhaps it's the sweet California air, but the pervasive (though not universal) pessimism in biopharma these days is really bumming me out.  Consequently, I'd like to discuss three potential responses to difficult industry problems.

President Barack Obama and key congressional Democrats want a better deal on prescription drugs sold to seniors. But if they get it, seniors will pay billions of dollars more for their medicines.

Successfully translating scientific discoveries requires a sense of urgency, which some disease foundations seem to have, and many big pharmas appear to need. Patients waiting expectantly for medical research to produce important new cures are finding bad news almost everywhere they turn.

The cost of developing drugs is rising at an unsustainable pace, new company formation in the biotech sector has dwindled, and healthcare costs continue to rise. We must craft policies that provide the proper incentives for new technology while making sure that we are getting more value for programs like Medicare.

Should the government negotiate the prices of pharmaceuticals covered by the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit? The incoming Democratic leadership in Congress has made Medicare price negotiation a top policy priority, but controversy rages over precisely what that might entail and whether it would reduce drug costs in...

Rep. Paul Ryan claims that huge savings under Medicare's Part D prescription drug program proves that competition will work for the full program. His critics argue that the savings have nothing to do with competition. As happens so often in Washington, both sides are focusing on the wrong issue.

Contrary to the popular misconception, the growth rate of national health spending has been dropping for a decade.