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 Christopher Newman • March 22, 2023

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 Jonathan Gardner • March 22, 2023

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Drug pricing

Major drug pricing legislation passed Congress in 2022, putting pharmaceutical companies on the defensive and creating a new precedent for the industry.

By BioPharma Dive staff

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 Christopher Newman • March 17, 2023

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 Christopher Newman • March 16, 2023

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 Christopher Newman • March 15, 2023

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 Delilah Alvarado • March 14, 2023

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 Christopher Newman • March 10, 2023

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

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

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 Jonathan Gardner • March 1, 2023

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

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 Jonathan Gardner • Feb. 23, 2023

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 Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 21, 2023

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 Jonathan Gardner • Feb. 21, 2023

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 Christopher Newman • Feb. 15, 2023

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 Christopher Newman • Feb. 10, 2023

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

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 Jonathan Gardner • Jan. 31, 2023

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

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

California files suit against PBMs over insulin prices

The state filed suit Thursday against pharmacy benefit managers CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx, alleging they worked with drugmakers to drive up the price of insulin.

By Hailey Mensik • Jan. 13, 2023

HHS lays out timing for drug price negotiations

The agency will begin discussions on how it will negotiate Medicare drug prices in the spring and publish a list of the first 10 drugs selected by Sept. 1, 2023.

By Christopher Newman • Jan. 11, 2023

Sanders to target healthcare costs as leader of influential Senate committee

The longtime congressman and “Medicare for All” proponent will soon assume leadership of the Senate HELP committee, giving him sway in one of the nation’s most broadly influential health policy forums.

By Sydney Halleman • Jan. 9, 2023

Eisai, in pricing new Alzheimer’s drug, tries to sidestep controversy

The pharma set the average annual cost of it and Biogen’s newly approved medicine Leqembi to $26,500, below the cost of the companies’ earlier drug Aduhelm but above one estimate of cost effectiveness.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Jan. 6, 2023

Pharma companies boost drug prices to start year, but hikes lag inflation

Analysts noted hundreds of list price increases, including dozens by Pfizer. Many checked in around 5%, roughly in line with hikes taken in recent years.

By Jonathan Gardner • Jan. 3, 2023