When the U.S. Congress resumes next week, its top priority will be the passage of a massive budget bill that once again includes long-promised – or threatened, depending on a person’s perspective – provisions intended to bring down prescription drug prices.
It looks like direct Medicare drug price negotiations are back in the U.S. fiscal 2022 budget bill.
Nearly a week after President Joe Biden dropped drug pricing reforms from his Build Back Better budget framework, congressional Democrats came together on a scaled-back version of the pricing provisions originally included in H.R. 3.
In the latest skirmish over who can get the 340B discounts on prescription drugs that are supposed to help qualifying U.S. providers offer charity care, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is challenging a recently passed Arkansas law that seeks to regulate drug manufacturers’ participation in the federal drug pricing program.
As the U.S. House of Representatives resumes work Aug. 23 on a budget reconciliation proposal to get a $3.5 trillion fiscal 2022 budget across the finish line, many lawmakers are looking to provisions to reduce prescription drug prices as a way to pay for increased spending in other health care sectors.
Citing a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April that denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ability to seek restitution or disgorgement, the FTC, on July 30, withdrew its remaining count against Abbvie Inc. involving sham litigation intended to delay generic competition to its blockbuster testosterone replacement drug, Androgel.
Heralded as a potential turning point for U.S. innovation in the 21st century, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, S. 1260, is a big step closer to becoming law. The Senate voted 68-32 June 8 to pass the sweeping $250 billion bipartisan bill intended to give the U.S. an edge over China when it comes to innovation and investment in several critical industries, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum computing.
Two weeks ago, it was a grilling by the House Oversight Committee over the pricing of blockbuster drugs Humira and Imbruvica and a request for the FTC to launch an investigation into Abbvie Inc.’s patent settlements that delayed Humira biosimilar competition in the U.S. until 2023. This week, Abbvie became the face of a new investigation by the Senate Finance Committee over how multinational companies are shifting profits overseas as a way to avoid U.S. taxes.
With the intense focus on developing COVID-19 diagnostics, sequencing tools, vaccines and treatments, the pandemic is having an outsized impact on the global development of drugs and devices to treat other diseases. Recent data show that more than 1,000 clinical trials worldwide remain disrupted by COVID-19, including 60% of the non-COVID-19 trials being conducted in the U.S., as funding and other resources continue to be directed toward ending the pandemic.
Nearly a week after U.S. President Joe Biden called on Congress to get prescription drug pricing reform done, a House subcommittee took up dueling bills aimed at bringing down drug prices.
The voluminous American Rescue Plan – the second largest stimulus package in U.S. history – has something for everyone. Almost. The $1.9 trillion package that passed the Senate over the weekend and is expected to be passed by the House March 9 failed to extend the current moratorium, set to expire April 1, on the 2% Medicare sequestration.
