Monte Rosa Therapeutics Inc. plans a signal-verifying phase II trial next year after making known the positive interim data from an ongoing phase I/II trial testing molecular glue degrader MRT-2359 in combination with androgen receptor (AR) inhibitor Xtandi (enzalutamide, Astellas Pharma Inc.). The investigation targeted heavily pretreated patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer bearing AR mutations.
With more than five dozen generics already tentatively approved for 10 of the drugs selected for the next round of the Medicare Price Negotiation Program, the impact of the negotiations won’t be limited to just the brand drugs.
In the final days of the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) laid out the latest 15 drugs that are subject to negotiated prices, with Novo Nordisk A/S’ GLP-1 drug Ozempic for type 2 diabetes topping the list, bringing Rybelsus and Wegovy along for the ride because they share the same active ingredient, semaglutide.
With round 1 not yet completed, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) already is prepping for round 2 of the Medicare negotiations mandated by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. While the negotiation process will expand to Part B drugs in the future, round 2, like the first cycle, will be limited to single-source Part D drugs that account for some of the highest Medicare expenditures. However, the number of drugs selected for the next cycle could grow from the current 10 to up to 15
Having failed in their efforts to get the U.S. NIH to march in on Xtandi’s patents under the Bayh-Dole Act because of price, Knowledge Ecology International and two other advocacy groups are now asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to do what the NIH refused to do. But rather than pressing for a march-in, which can be a lengthy process, the groups are pushing for CMS to use other statutory tools to clear the way for Xtandi (enzalutamide) generics to launch in the U.S. before Astellas Pharma Inc.’s three remaining patents for the prostate cancer drug expire in 2026 and 2027.
As Monica Bertagnolli, U.S. President Joe Biden’s choice to be the next NIH director, meets with senators to gather support for her confirmation, she’s sure to be grilled by some of them about her stance on whether the agency can march in on drug patents based on a drug’s list price. Up until now, NIH directors have said no. A change in that policy, along with nearly flatline NIH spending and other new government initiatives, could impact private investment in drug R&D by increasing the cost of research and lowering the return on investment.
While the U.S. continues to call out other countries for weak enforcement of intellectual property rights, trade secret theft and forced technology transfers in the life sciences sector, some companies in the sector claim similar things are happening in the U.S. In its 2023 Special 301 Report, released April 26, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) noted “the growing need for trading partners to provide effective protection and enforcement of trade secrets.”
While Moderna Inc. CEO Stéphane Bancel was the one on the hot seat at a March 22 hearing before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, biopharma profitability in general, and capitalism itself, came under fire as committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) railed about corporate greed in the sector.
With its focus on transformative high-risk, high-reward research to drive biomedical breakthroughs, the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) may be a good concept, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of increased investment in basic research at the NIH, according to the bipartisan leadership of U.S. House appropriators.
