Three years in: How the IRA’s “Fair Pricing” has affected the biopharma development pipeline
With CMS set to announce this week the “maximum fair prices” for 2027’s cohort of drugs under the IRA’s “negotiation” program and the recent the three-year anniversary of that law’s passage, it seemed a good time to take stock of just how the law is influencing the biopharma investors’ and innovators’ collective drug development choices. A collection of empirical evidence.
Egypt and hepatitis C cures — the gift that keeps on giving
In covering how Egypt managed to eradicate hepatitis C, the New York Times rewrites a key bit of history that betrays its misunderstanding of global drug pricing. Egypt’s access to the life-saving Harvoni was a gift from Gilead, not a result of a bare knuckle negotiation. It’s important to understand and explain the increasingly vulnerable system that underpins that gift before bad policy dismantles it.
Want lower obesity drug costs? Medicare holds the key
Medicare coverage of anti-obesity medicines would boost competition due to an expanded market, more investors in search of better drugs, and more competitors. This would result in a true weight-loss revolution that can save lives and dramatically drive down the cost of these drugs.