The Biden administration has revealed the first 10 prescription drugs that will be subject to price negotiations between manufacturers and the U.S. health program Medicare with the aim of reducing out-of-pocket costs for a range of drugs including insulin and blood thinners for Americans aged 65 and older.
“There is no reason why Americans should be forced to pay more than any developed nation for life-saving prescriptions just to pad Big Pharma’s pockets,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement.
The ability for Medicare to negotiate drug prices was granted under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, with pharmaceutical giants opposing the move.
Negotiations for the first group of drugs will begin in 2023, with negotiated prices to go into effect in 2026.
The first 10 drugs to undergo price negotiations are:
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY)’s Eliquis for the prevention and treatment of blood clots
- Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY)'s Jardiance for diabetes and heart failure
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s Xarelto for the prevention and treatment of blood clots
- Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK)’s Januvia for diabetes
- AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN)’s Farxiga for diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease
- Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS)’ Entresto for heart failure
- Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
- Abbvie (NYSE:ABBV)’s Imbruvica for blood cancers
- J&J-owned Janssen Pharmaceuticals' Stelara for psoriasis; psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis
- Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)’s Fiasp, Fiasp FlexTouch, Fiasp PenFill NovoLog, NovoLog FlexPen, NovoLog PenFill (insulins) for diabetes
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