Drug Pricing

  • An injector and box of Coherus BioScience's Yusimry drug.
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    Courtesy of Coherus BioSciences
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    Coherus sets steep discount for Humira copycat, plans direct sales

    The biotech will price its biosimilar Yusimry at 85% below Humira’s list price when it launches next month, and charge even less if bought through Mark Cuban’s pharmacy.

    By • June 1, 2023
  • Rep. Comer sits in front of a poster outlining the cost differences between a drug dispensed at Cost Plus Drugs versus CVS.
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    Rebecca Pifer/BioPharma Dive
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    House lawmakers, PBM lobby spar over committee hearing

    At the latest congressional inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers, lawmakers argued the middlemen profit at the expense of patients and taxpayers.

    By Rebecca Pifer • May 25, 2023
  • Explore the Trendline➔
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    Roche
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    Trendline

    Biosimilars

    The arrival this year of lookalike competition to AbbVie’s Humira in the U.S. presents an opportunity, and a test, for the cost-saving potential of biosimilars.

    By BioPharma Dive staff
  • The outside of an AbbVie building, with the company's logo displayed.
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    AbbVie
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    AbbVie weathers first months of biosimilar challenge to top-selling Humira

    While Humira sales declined, the drop was mostly due to price concessions AbbVie made to secure equal insurer access in the face of copycat competition.

    By • April 28, 2023
  • A picture of the exterior of the US Department of Health and Human Services. In front of the building is a black sign designating the building's name.
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    CMS removes 7 drugs from list marked for price hike penalties

    After revising its calculations, CMS removed Gilead’s cancer cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus, as well as 5 other medicines, from the first set of drugs subject to rebates under a provision of the IRA.

    By • March 31, 2023
  • An image of an Express Scripts prescription bottle.
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    Courtesy of Express Scripts
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    Ohio AG sues Cigna, Humana for alleged PBM price fixing

    The state’s Attorney General David Yost called pharmacy benefit managers “modern gangsters,” claiming in a suit filed Monday they shared pricing information and drove up drug prices.

    By Hailey Mensik • March 28, 2023
  • Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders waving a report as he questions Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel at a March, 22, 2023 hearing.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Moderna CEO defends price of COVID shot at Senate hearing

    Stéphane Bancel said his company's planned quadrupling of the vaccine’s price covers the higher costs of commercial sales. Sen. Bernie Sanders called it part of industry’s “unprecedented level of corporate greed.”

    By • March 22, 2023
  • A picture of Xavier Becerra giving a speech at a podium
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    U.S. government again rejects call to seize Xtandi rights

    The Biden administration plans to review federal “march-in” rights and consider whether price could be a reason to take control of patents for drugs developed with government funding.

    By • March 22, 2023
  • A person holds an insulin pen
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    agrobacter via Getty Images
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    Sanofi joins other diabetes drugmakers in cutting insulin prices

    The pharma is the last of the three major insulin suppliers to reduce U.S. list prices, responding to persistent criticism and policy changes that will affect Medicaid rebate payments.

    By • March 17, 2023
  • A picture of the exterior of the US Department of Health and Human Services. In front of the building is a black sign designating the building's name.
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    CMS lays out plans for negotiating drug prices

    The guidance fills in details for one of the central pharmaceutical provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, signaling how the agency will use its new authority.

    By • March 16, 2023
  • HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks to reporters.
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    Justin Sullivan/Staff via Getty Images
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    US names first drugs to face price hike penalty

    Gilead’s cancer cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus were among the slate of 27 drugs singled out by CMS for rebates under a provision of the IRA.

    By • March 15, 2023
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    Novo Nordisk
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    Novo Nordisk follows Lilly in sharply cutting insulin prices

    Responding to policy changes and pressure over high drug costs, the pharma is reducing the sticker price of four branded diabetes medicines by up to 75%.

    By • March 14, 2023
  • President Biden talks about his proposed 2024 federal budget plan at an event in Philadelphia on March 9, 2023.
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    Chip Somodevilla/Staff via Getty Images
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    Biden takes fresh aim at drug prices with new budget plan

    The proposal, viewed as a “non-starter” by one analyst, seeks to double the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate prices for and open up those talks more quickly.

    By • March 10, 2023
  • U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on February 07, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Biden’s plan to extend Medicare solvency targets prescription drugs

    The proposal — part of a 2024 budget set to be released Thursday — would further reduce what Medicare pays for prescription drugs and raise taxes on Americans earning over $400,000.

    By Rebecca Pifer • March 7, 2023
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    Permission granted by Phil Inc
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    Sponsored by Phil

    Harnessing data to improve patient access and optimize gross-to-net

    Discover the data and metrics you should be tracking to evaluate patient access.

    March 6, 2023
  • A building with logo of drugmaker Eli Lilly.
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    Eli Lilly & Co.
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    Lilly to lower insulin prices by 70%

    The pharma company, along with its diabetes drug rivals Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, has long been under pressure over the high cost of insulin — scrutiny that has recently ramped up in the U.S.

    By • March 1, 2023
  • Colorful illustrations depicting financial gain
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    Permission granted by Phil Inc
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    Sponsored by Phil

    Harnessing data to improve patient access and optimize gross-to-net

    Discover the data and metrics you should be tracking to evaluate patient access.  

    Feb. 27, 2023
  • A vial of Eisai and Biogen's Alzheimer's disease drug Leqembi
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    Courtesy of Eisai
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    Medicare maintains limits on Eisai’s new Alzheimer’s drug

    Eisai and Biogen have data showing Leqembi slows cognitive decline, but CMS won’t budge until FDA converts its approval from accelerated to full.

    By • Feb. 23, 2023
  • A piece of DNA stretches vertically along a plain background.
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    Getty / Edited by BioPharma Dive
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    Medicaid, with planned payment pilot, girds for influx of pricey gene therapies

    The proposed model could help state Medicaid agencies explore different kinds of outcomes-based payment schemes, but may come too late to prepare for the first sickle cell gene therapy.

    By • Feb. 21, 2023
  • An AbbVie sign is seen on the outside of a building in California.
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    Courtesy of AbbVie
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    Deep Dive // Patent thickets

    Big pharma’s looming threat: a patent cliff of ‘tectonic magnitude’

    Many top-selling products will lose patent protection by the end of the decade, putting pressure on companies to replace lost revenue with new medicines.

    By • Feb. 21, 2023
  • A picture of Xavier Becerra giving a speech at a podium
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    CMS plans trio of experiments aimed at lowering drug costs

    The pilot programs could allow adjusted payments for drugs cleared under accelerated approval and help states manage the costs of gene therapies.

    By • Feb. 15, 2023
  • The front of the department of health and human services building with a sign in front of the exterior building
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    Mark Wilson via Getty Images
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    Medicare to collect drug price rebates starting in 2025

    CMS laid out how it plans to implement a key provision of the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires drugmakers to pay rebates on price hikes within Medicare that are greater than inflation.

    By • Feb. 10, 2023
  • U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on February 07, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    In address to Congress, Biden touts drug pricing law and pushes insulin cost caps

    In his State of the Union speech, Biden threatened to veto any efforts to repeal the legislation and chastised drugmakers for the high cost of insulin.

    By Kristin Jensen • Feb. 8, 2023
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    Amgen Inc.
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    Patent thickets

    Humira biosimilars arrive in the US, as Amgen launches first copycat to AbbVie’s blockbuster drug

    The world’s best-selling drug will face pricing pressure as rivals try to steal share from AbbVie’s $20 billion-a-year flagship product in the U.S. 

    By • Jan. 31, 2023
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    Maddie Meyer via Getty Images
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    Moderna draws more lawmaker criticism for COVID vaccine pricing plan

    Senators Warren and Welch urged the biotech to reconsider a planned price hike to between $110 and $130 a dose, and sought answers to a long list of questions.

    By Kristin Jensen • Jan. 26, 2023
  • A Pfizer sign on a building.
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    Jeenah Moon via Getty Images
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    Pfizer expands not-for-profit pledge to include more medicines

    The pharma is now committing to providing all of the roughly 500 products in its portfolio, including antibiotics and cancer drugs, to 45 lower-income countries.

    By Kristin Jensen • Jan. 17, 2023