Drug Pricing: Page 2

Medicare faces blowback over plan to limit coverage of Biogen's Alzheimer's drug

Biogen, along with allies in industry, plans to pressure Medicare to water down its policy, which limits coverage of Aduhelm and drugs like it to clinical trials.

By Jonathan Gardner , Jacob Bell • Jan. 14, 2022

After years of decline, drugmakers' price hikes may have bottomed out

Inflation in 2021 may have offered drugmakers a catalyst for taking slightly bigger increases on a list price basis. But rebates to insurers are still keeping net price rises lower.

By Jonathan Gardner • Jan. 5, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Drug pricing

With a legislative efforts stalled, drug pricing reform in the U.S. appears both further along than it's been in years and stuck facing the same long odds that have frustrated past attempts.

By BioPharma Dive staff

After intense pushback, Biogen to cut price of Alzheimer's drug

Effective Jan. 1, the average list price for Aduhelm will drop about 50% to just over $28,000 a year. It's a move the company hopes will appease insurers and lower out-of-pocket costs for patients.

By Jacob Bell • Dec. 20, 2021

Martin Shkreli's former company to pay $40M in settlement over drug price hikes

The payment resolves the government's claims against Vyera and Phoenixus for their efforts to block competition to Daraprim, the toxoplasmosis drug Shkreli famously raised the price of by 4,000%.

By Kristin Jensen • Dec. 8, 2021

As Congress weighs drug price restraints, ICER calls out 'unsupported' increases

In a new report, ICER highlighted AbbVie's price hikes on Humira, which the group said resulted in more than $1 billion in U.S. spending last year without any new evidence of health benefits.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 16, 2021

Pfizer will allow generic drugmakers to produce promising COVID-19 pill

A licensing deal with a U.N.-backed patent group could expand supply of Pfizer's experimental drug Paxlovid in lower- and middle-income countries.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Nov. 16, 2021

Anticipating Aduhelm's costs, Medicare plans big jump in premiums

While CMS is still weighing whether to authorize wide coverage of Biogen's pricey Alzheimer's drug, administrators are planning to build reserves in case costs skyrocket.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 15, 2021

Democrats’ drug pricing plan, while scaled back, could still squeeze pharma top-sellers

Legislation backed by President Joe Biden and top Democratic lawmakers would allow for price negotiation on 20 older drugs, potentially impacting blockbusters from Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb and others.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 4, 2021

A three-decade monopoly: how Amgen built a patent thicket around its top-selling drug

Through high-stakes litigation, aggressive patenting practices and a bit of luck, Amgen will likely stretch Enbrel's monopoly until 2029, more than 30 years after it was approved.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 1, 2021

Drug price restraints dropped as Biden prioritizes other measures

Despite majority control of Congress, it appears unlikely the Biden administration will be able to pass meaningful pricing reform, though a slimmed-down bill may still be in the works.

By Jonathan Gardner • Oct. 29, 2021

J&J foresees end to not-for-profit sales of coronavirus vaccine

The drugmaker plans to switch over to a commercial business model late next year or early in 2023, said Jennifer Taubert, head of J&J's pharma division.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Oct. 19, 2021

Boehringer wins 'interchangeable' status for Humira copy, strengthening competitive threat

The interchangeable approval could help to boost adoption of Boehringer's biosimilar when it launches in mid-2023, a date set via settlement with AbbVie.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Oct. 18, 2021

Insurers sue Merck for 'monopolistic scheme' to delay generics of blockbuster cholesterol drug

The suits allege an agreement between Merck and a generic manufacturer kept low-cost versions of the drugmaker's widely used Zetia off the market for years.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 24, 2021

Lilly, Novartis, other pharmas could face fines for violating 340B law

The U.S. health department asked its inspector general to review the refusals of six drugmakers to offer discounts to safety net hospitals through community pharmacy partnerships.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 24, 2021

Biden pushes forward on Medicare price negotiation

But opposition from the drug industry and congressional Republicans could make the Democrats' signature proposal an uphill battle. 

By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 10, 2021

Coherus, known for biosimilars, nears an immunotherapy battle with big pharma

New lung cancer results could make Coherus the next entrant in an ultra-competitive market dominated by pricey drugs like Merck's Keytruda.

By Ben Fidler • Aug. 19, 2021

Biden embraces Medicare drug price negotiation as Democrats seek to widen health coverage

In a speech Thursday afternoon outlining his proposal, which features several familiar policy ideas, Biden emphasized price negotiation, but allowing for drugmaker profit. 

By Jonathan Gardner • Updated Aug. 12, 2021

VA leaves Aduhelm off coverage list, recommending against controversial Alzheimer's drug

The decision, which does provide for certain exceptions, is another bump in what's become a rocky market rollout for Biogen's medicine. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • Updated Aug. 12, 2021

Startup EQRx to take drug price mission public through $1.8B SPAC deal

A merger with a blank-check company backed by Casdin Capital will greatly expand the resources available to EQRx, which aims to develop competitors to existing drugs and sell them at "radically lower" prices.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 6, 2021

Questions on new Alzheimer's drug benefit, price loom large at ICER meeting

"Right now, and I think for a while, the access is going to be pretty limited," former CMS and FDA head Mark McClellan said at the meeting, which featured yet another rebuke by experts of Aduhelm.

By Ned Pagliarulo • July 16, 2021

Medicare to weigh nationwide coverage rules for Biogen Alzheimer's drug

CMS will consider whether to set a single policy for Aduhelm, a process that could shape how millions of Americans access the controversial treatment.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Updated July 13, 2021

Alzheimer's Association, insurers press Medicare for coverage rules on Aduhelm

Days after the FDA narrowed the target population for Biogen's drug, the patient advocacy group said it's urging Medicare to adopt a nationwide policy. Payers are seeking guidance, too.

By Jonathan Gardner • Updated July 12, 2021

ICER stands by view on Biogen's Aduhelm, says sharp price cut needed

The influential nonprofit maintains that the clinical trial evidence supporting Aduhelm is insufficient to prove a health benefit. But if some efficacy is assumed, ICER argues Biogen's $56,000 price tag is far too high.

By Ned Pagliarulo • June 30, 2021

Congress pressures FDA and Biogen on Alzheimer's drug approval, price

The agency's decision-making process as well as Biogen's pricing of Aduhelm at $56,000 per year are both under the microscope as the repercussions of the controversial OK continue to be felt.

By Jonathan Gardner • June 28, 2021

As 5 Blue Cross Blue Shield plans join to tackle drug prices, some remain skeptical

Another healthcare venture promises to lower costs, this time by using patient data on drug efficacy through a handful of large insurers.

By Samantha Liss • June 23, 2021