Drug Pricing: Page 2


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    J&J joins Pfizer in detailing impact of Part D redesign

    The pharma expects a modest financial headwind this year from changes to Medicare prescription drug benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • Jan. 22, 2025
  • Boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
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    Obesity drugs

    Medicare will negotiate Novo’s GLP-1 drug price. Here’s what that means for Ozempic, Wegovy.

    Novo sells semaglutide as Ozempic and Rybelsus for diabetes and as Wegovy for obesity. In price talks, CMS will treat the different forms as a single product.

    By Jan. 17, 2025
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    Trendline

    Drug pricing

    President Trump’s efforts to install a most-favored nation pricing policy present new risks for an industry already adjusting to Medicare price negotiations.

    By BioPharma Dive staff
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    Ozempic, Ibrance among next drugs picked by Medicare for price talks

    Announcement of the 15 medicines chosen for the second round of negotiations was one of the Biden administration’s final health policy acts.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • Updated Jan. 17, 2025
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    FTC again goes after PBMs’ business practices in new report

    Agency commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to publish the report, which makes a similar attack on the drug middlemen as the agency’s first report, but draws on more data.

    By Rebecca Pifer • Updated Jan. 14, 2025
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    As election day nears, Trump and Harris veer in different directions on pharma

    Harris aims to broaden some IRA provisions, including Medicare drug price negotiation, while Trump has adopted a more industry-friendly approach.

    By Amy Baxter • Oct. 15, 2024
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    UnitedHealth, CVS push to remove FTC Chair Lina Khan from PBM case

    Attorneys argue Khan and two other commissioners are biased against pharmacy benefit managers and should recuse themselves from an ongoing lawsuit against the middlemen.

    By Emily Olsen • Oct. 10, 2024
  • Pills bottles labeled with the logos for Eliquis, Farxiga and Xarelto are arranged on a table.
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    Medicare tweaks rules for second round of drug price talks

    The agency will offer earlier meetings with drugmakers as well as solicit more patient feedback on the process.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • Oct. 3, 2024
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    Blue Shield of California sidesteps PBMs with new Humira biosimilar deal

    It’s the first time, according to the insurer, that this type of model has been used to bring a Humira biosimilar to market, and it yields a much lower cost than both the brand-name version of the drug and biologic copycats.

    By Rebecca Pifer • Oct. 2, 2024
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    Novo CEO pressed by Senate to cut prices of obesity, diabetes drugs

    CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen told lawmakers the company would consider new talks with insurers about the list prices of Wegovy and Ozempic if they pledge to keep the medicines on their formularies.

    By Sept. 24, 2024
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    FTC sues major pharmacy benefit managers over insulin prices

    The agency brought action against Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx Friday, and warned that all drug manufacturers “should be on notice” as well.  

    By Rebecca Pifer • Updated Sept. 20, 2024
  • Boxes bearing the brand name Wegovy are arranged on a table.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Covering Wegovy for heart risk could cost Medicare tens of billions: study

    If all newly eligible patients received Novo's GLP-1 drug, Medicare Part D spending could increase by $34 billion to $145 billion each year, according to new research.

    By Emily Olsen • Aug. 27, 2024
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    Courtesy of Eisai
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    UK approves Leqembi, but reimbursement may not follow

    Leqembi’s benefits are “too small to justify the significant cost to the NHS,” said the head of a UK agency in charge of determining medicine reimbursement.

    By Kristin Jensen • Aug. 22, 2024
  • Boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic are seen on a pharmacy counter.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Employers foresee higher health costs next year due to rising pharmacy spend

    Pharmaceuticals like the in-demand GLP-1 drugs for obesity are expected to drive increases in healthcare spending in 2025, per a new employer survey. 

    By Rebecca Pifer • Updated Aug. 21, 2024
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    Medicare drug price cuts could have limited early impact, but grow with time

    Some in the industry described the level of price discounts announced by Medicare as a "relief," though they warned of larger implications for drug research in the future.

    By Aug. 16, 2024
  • Pills bottles labeled with the logos for Eliquis, Farxiga and Xarelto are arranged on a table.
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    Medicare reveals results of drug price negotiations

    The first round of pricing talks under new powers granted to the U.S. government involved drugs like the blood thinners Eliquis and Xarelto, as well immune medicines like Enbrel and Stelara.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 15, 2024
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    Cigna CEO promises ‘aggressive’ defense of pharmacy benefit managers

    David Cordani’s comments to investors Thursday come as the payer blew past Wall Street’s expectations for the second quarter, helped by significant growth in its health services division — including PBM Express Scripts.

    By Rebecca Pifer • Aug. 1, 2024
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    PBMs battle bipartisan scrutiny as lawmakers eye reforms

    Top executives at CVS Caremark, Optum Rx and Express Scripts made a rare congressional appearance to defend their companies’ drug pricing policies.

    By Susanna Vogel , Rebecca Pifer • July 24, 2024
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    Where Kamala Harris stands on three key pharma issues

    The presumptive Democratic nominee has a history of taking on pharma over drug prices and supporting women’s healthcare access.

    By Amy Baxter • July 24, 2024
  • Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan testifies at a committee hearing.
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    FTC to sue three largest PBMs over drug price practices: WSJ

    Antitrust regulators are set to file suit against CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx over how they negotiate discounts for drugs, including insulin, per the report.

    By Rebecca Pifer • July 10, 2024
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    FTC criticizes PBM power over prescription drug market

    On Tuesday, regulators updated the public on their yearslong probe of PBM's business practices. The report faults PBMs for profiting at the expense of patients and independent pharmacists. 

    By Rebecca Pifer • July 9, 2024
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    FTC targets ‘junk patents’ on Ozempic, other top drugs

    The move broadens the antitrust regulator’s campaign against allegedly “improper or inaccurate” patent listings by drugmakers to include top-selling medicines for weight loss, diabetes, asthma and COPD. 

    By Kristin Jensen • May 1, 2024
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    Courtesy of Teva Pharmaceutical
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    Alvotech deal could heighten biosimilar pressure on Humira

    The agreement may help Alvotech capitalize on a recent policy shift by CVS that has driven major market share declines for AbbVie’s blockbuster drug.

    By April 19, 2024
  • An injection pen containing the drug semaglutide lies on a white plate.
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    Medicare to cover Novo’s obesity drug for some patients

    Two weeks after the FDA updated Wegovy’s label, Medicare changed its stance to allow people with a history of heart disease to receive treatment, a shift that could boost access to the fast-selling medicine. 

    By March 22, 2024
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    Orchard sets out to sell world’s priciest gene therapy

    Orchard is counting on the long-term data it’s accrued to convince insurers to cover Lenmeldy’s $4.25 million list price, the highest of any genetic medicine to come to market. 

    By Kristin Jensen • March 20, 2024
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    Courtesy of Kroger
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    Elevance to buy Kroger’s specialty pharmacy

    Major pharmacy benefit managers continue to double down on specialty as a reliable source of business amid a growing crop of pharmacy upstarts.

    By Rebecca Pifer • March 19, 2024