CER Daily Newsfeed

Trump's Plan to Match Foreign Drug Prices Faces Familiar Hurdles

(5/13, Nyah Phensitthy, Bloomberg Law) reports “...‘There's a lot of bluster with limited meat on the bone in terms of what they're actually planning to do,’ said Zach Baron, a director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law at Georgetown University's O'Neill Institute. ‘The first time Trump tried the most favored nation approach, they lost on procedural grounds.’...‘The question, now, is what are the procedural steps and process that they're going to go through?’ Baron said. ‘They allude to some type of rulemaking plan that would come into effect, but the specifics are going to be really important.’” Subscription Required

Big Pharma Counted On a Price Negotiation Loophole. It May Be Closing

(5/13, Josh Nathan-Kazis, Barron’s) reports “...In Monday's guidance, [CMS] said it is ‘soliciting comments’ on how it ‘might consider’ grouping combination drugs where one ingredient doesn't impact the disease the drug is approved to treat together with their original version. It's a confusing paragraph, but CMS seems to be signaling it's considering a change for the negotiated prices that go into effect in 2028 that would, for example, make a combination drug like Darzelx Faspro eligible for negotiations at the same time as the original Darzalex. That's probably closer to the intent of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which is the law that set up the price negotiations, according to Leerink Partners analyst Daina Graybosh.” Subscription Required

Industry On Making England’s HTA Innovation Lab A Success

(5/13, Eliza Slawther, Pink Sheet) reports “...England’s health technology assessment institute, NICE, must ensure that there is clarity for manufacturers on how its methods and processes might change following testing in its sandbox environment, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said.” Subscription Required