Government
The new framework was well-received by biopharma analysts, who say it “largely formalizes” current COVID-19 vaccination trends.
Drugmakers will be expected to commit to aligning U.S. prices with the lowest price set in a group of peer nations for all brand products across all markets that do not currently have generic or biosimilar competition.
The Most Favored Nation order is unlikely to deliver broad, sustained savings without triggering legal challenges, administrative friction and unintended consequences for both the healthcare sector and patient access.
In an interview on Friday, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary threw his weight behind psychedelic therapies, noting that patients taking these substances experience significant benefits for various neuropsychiatric conditions.
At a sometimes-contentious U.S. Senate hearing, the Health and Human Services secretary was evasive on the rationale behind cuts being made to the department and his endorsement of the measles vaccine amid a rapidly growing outbreak.
The commitment is part of Roche’s recently announced $50 billion investment in the U.S., but a company spokesperson said that could change if certain yet-unspecified policies are implemented that could “harm our industry’s ability to operate and innovate in America.”
The third cycle of the drug price negotiations will involve drugs under Medicare Part B. New prices are set to take effect in 2028.
The Most Favored Nation directive would allow drugmakers to directly sell their products to patients at a lower cost, cutting out what President Donald Trump called “the middlemen.”
While industry groups decried the Trump administration’s new drug pricing order, analysts say it lacked details and the teeth to make a major impact without an act of Congress.
The package revives President Donald Trump’s much-maligned Most Favored Nation rule but goes further into the private markets and beyond, leveraging the patent system, drug importation and more.
PRESS RELEASES