Show an ad over header. AMP  
Data: IQVIA, company financial documents; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The 10 highest-selling drugs in the U.S. last year gave away more than $23 billion in rebates to insurance intermediaries, but still netted almost $58 billion in sales.

The big picture: The U.S. drug pricing system is filled with confusing numbers, and many entities profit off the flow of drugs, but pharmaceutical companies retain a vast majority of the proceeds.

By the numbers: Humira, the rheumatoid arthritis blockbuster made by AbbVie, continues to generate more revenue than any other drug, due to AbbVie extending U.S. patents and consequently retaining higher U.S. prices.

  • After subtracting about $3 billion in discounts that went to drug distributors and other supply chain entities, Humira generated about $21.9 billion in "non-discounted invoice sales," according to a report from data analytics firm IQVIA.
  • Another $6.5 billion in rebates went to pharmacy benefit managers, health insurers and employers, leading to $14.9 billion in net U.S. Humira sales for AbbVie.

Between the lines: Drugs that have more competitors usually offer higher insurance rebates than drugs with few or no competitors.

  • Intravenous cancer drug Keytruda and immunology drug Stelara have no real competitors, and therefore don't have large rebates.
  • Blood thinners Xarelto and Eliquis and diabetes drug Trulicity are battling several other drugs in their classes, and therefore offer rebates well over 50% of their list prices to get preferred slots on lists of covered drugs.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.