Drug Pricing: Page 2

  • A picture of the exterior of a CVS Pharmacy with the logo and name in view.
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    Bruce Bennett via Getty Images
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    Blue Shield of California drops CVS Caremark in pharmacy benefit overhaul

    BSCA has kicked CVS Caremark, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the country, to the curb and is electing to carve out various pharmacy functions with companies like Amazon instead.

    By Rebecca Pifer • Updated Aug. 17, 2023
  • Alexis Borisy and Melanie Nallicheri of EQRx, at launch
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    Courtesy of EQRx
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    EQRx to sell to Revolution Medicines after failed bid to upend US drug pricing

    The all-stock deal is a quiet end for the ambitious biotech, which was sold for its billion-dollar bank account after the FDA derailed its plans to develop low-cost cancer medicines.

    By • Aug. 1, 2023
  • Explore the Trendline➔
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    Elizabeth Regan / Industry Dive
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    Trendline

    Drug pricing

    Drug pricing legislation has put pharmaceutical companies on the defensive and created a new precedent for the industry.

    By BioPharma Dive staff
  • A office building is seen with a sign reading "GlaxoSmithKline."
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    Leon Neal via Getty Images
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    RSV vaccines

    GSK confident in RSV vaccine launch, but sets expectations for ‘steady build’

    GSK expects its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine will be a multibillion dollar product. But at the beginning, it’s predicting a slower launch than for its fast-selling shingles shot.

    By • July 27, 2023
  • An AbbVie sign is seen on a building at the pharmaceutical company's U.S. headquarters.
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    Courtesy of AbbVie
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    Patent thickets

    Biosimilar makers split strategies in bid to take on top-selling Humira

    In challenging AbbVie for share of a $19 billion drug market, competitors are testing whether high upfront discounts or behind-the-scenes rebates can win them an advantage.

    By • July 26, 2023
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    J&J joins pharma allies in challenging US drug pricing law

    The pharma claimed in federal court that the Inflation Reduction Act, which threatens sales of its blood thinner Xarelto, amounts to “confiscation of constitutionally protected property.”

    By Kristin Jensen • July 19, 2023
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Pharma’s strike-from-all-sides attack on the IRA could end up at the Supreme Court

    Industry lawsuits have taken a ‘multi-pronged’ approach to challenge the Inflation Reduction Act’s price negotiation program on constitutional grounds. 

    By Alexandra Pecci • July 6, 2023
  • A photograph of the exterior of the Food and Drug Administration headquarters in Maryland.
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    Sarah Silbiger via Getty Images
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    Alvotech to raise cash after third FDA rejection for Humira biosimilar

    The latest regulatory setback, tied to continuing manufacturing issues, ensures Alvotech and partner Teva won’t be able to launch their drug alongside a wave of emerging Humira copycats.  

    By Kristin Jensen • June 29, 2023
  • A photograph of a Sarepta building in Boston, MA
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    Courtesy of Sarepta
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    Sarepta prices Duchenne gene therapy at $3.2M

    The cost makes Sarepta’s treatment among the most expensive medicines in the world. But company executives said they don’t expect significant insurer pushback.

    By • June 22, 2023
  • An injector and box of Coherus BioScience's Yusimry drug.
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    Courtesy of Coherus BioSciences
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    AbbVie, Coherus mend dispute over low-price Humira biosimilar

    The biosimilar developer’s plans to set steep discounts on its copycat version of AbbVie’s Humira set off a legal back-and-forth between the companies.

    By Kristin Jensen • June 15, 2023
  • Prescriptions drugs on a production line.
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    zorazhuang via Getty Images
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    Pharmaceutical companies search for IRA response as they brace for drug pricing talks

    Lobbying group PhRMA does not expect any near-term changes to the IRA’s drug pricing provisions, but is attempting to lay groundwork for future changes.

    By • June 15, 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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    Medicare sets next tranche of drugs to face price hike penalties

    CMS named 43 Part B drugs for which prices rose more than inflation, and which will have lower coinsurance rates next quarter as a result. 

    By • June 9, 2023
  • The Merck & Co. sign at the company's building in Summit, New Jersey.
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    Kena Betancur via Getty Images
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    Merck sues to block Medicare negotiation of drug prices

    The drugmaker’s lawsuit claims the new pricing powers granted by the Inflation Reduction Act are unconstitutional and “tantamount to extortion.”

    By • Updated June 6, 2023
  • 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
  • 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
  • A flag with the Novo Nordisk logo.
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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