US Democrats Eye Drug Launch Prices

With a recent legislative win in the books with drug pricing reform in the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats are looking towards high drug launch prices. In recent years, the launch prices of many drugs, especially biologics, have skyrocketed, with the average launch price in 2021 at $232,000. Rep Katie Porter (Dem-CA) has pointed out that now is the time to strike, while drug pricing reform still has momentum.

According to Zachary Brennan, “The nonpartisan CBO projected prior to the IRA’s passage that the inflation-rebate and negotiation provisions would increase the launch prices for drugs that are not yet on the market relative to what such prices would be otherwise, which may offset some of those losses that would cut into biopharma companies’ R&D budgets.”

To read more, click here.

(Source: Endpoints News, November 3^rd, 2022)