Welcome to the Week in Review.

Key Drug Price Reforms Reintroduced

Senators Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden, Ranking Members of the Senate HELP and Senate Finance Committees, respectively, reintroduced a health package that includes key bipartisan reforms to lower drug prices by curbing some of the shady tactics used by pharma and pharmacy benefit managers to keep prices high for patients and taxpayers. These reforms were left out of the year-end package in 2024 due to last-minute political maneuvering, and their reintroduction provides a second chance to address manipulative tactics like patent thicketing on biologics, which block more affordable biosimilars from entering the market and keep prices high. In a statement, P4ADNow Executive Director Merith Basey called on Congress to “act swiftly to pass these measures and prove that [Congress’] priority is lowering costs for Americans – not caving to corporate interests.” Patients have been calling for these reforms for years, including Kaye Peterson, a P4AD patient advocate from Kentucky who lives with type 1 diabetes. In an LTE in The Lebanon Enterprise this week, Kaye highlighted the impact of patent thicketing on insulin prices and urged Congress to pass these reforms. With mounting pressure from patients and advocates alike, lawmakers must choose between protecting Pharma’s profits or delivering long-overdue relief to Americans struggling to afford their medications. – (The Hill, Politico, Congress.gov, The Guardian, Congress.gov, P4ADNow, The Lebanon Enterprise)

Pharma-Backed Bills Seek to Undermine Medicare Negotiation

Big Pharma is escalating its campaign to undermine the 2022 prescription drug law – and they’ve found allies in Congress. Last week, the EPIC Act was reintroduced in the House to unnecessarily extend the Medicare negotiation exemption period for small-molecule drugs from nine to 13 years. On Wednesday, Senator Thom Tillis introduced a companion bill in the Senate, further escalating efforts to undermine the historic Medicare negotiation program. Meanwhile, the Maintaining Investments in New Innovation (MINI) Act was also reintroduced in the House this week by Rep. Don Davis – another bill aimed at creating loopholes for pharma by extending the exemption for genetically targeted therapies to 13 years – even though the current nine years is more than enough time for drugmakers to recoup investments. Yesterday, P4AD sent a letter to every Senator, urging them to oppose the EPIC Act, ORPHAN Cures Act, and MINI Act  – building on a similar letter sent to the full House last month. The 2022 prescription drug law already strikes a fair balance between encouraging innovation and lowering prices for patients. Lawmakers must decide whether they stand with patients or with Pharma’s profits. – (Congress.gov, Inside Health Policy, Congress.gov, Congress.gov, P4ADNow, P4ADNow)

Monitoring Potential Impact of New Tariffs

Newly announced tariffs on pharmaceutical imports from China are raising important concerns about potential drug price increases and supply shortages. While it is premature to assess the full impact on patients, in particular since the recent tariffs levied on Mexico and Canada were delayed yesterday, we’re closely monitoring the situation. Any measure that could drive up drug costs for patients is a serious concern. We’ll continue to track developments and advocate for solutions that protect patients from higher prices. – (Forbes, Bloomberg Law, NBC News)

Attorneys Recalled to Defend Medicare Negotiation

At least two attorneys involved in defending Medicare’s drug price negotiation program have been recalled to their positions – after being caught up in the widespread layoffs across the government. This is a promising sign that the administration is committed to upholding the 2022 prescription drug law. This follows the DOJ’s recent brief defending Medicare negotiations in the case brought by Novartis to undermine the program. Additionally, last Friday marked the deadline for drugmakers to agree to participate in the next round of negotiations. While only a handful of companies have publicly confirmed their participation, none have publicly refused – an encouraging sign that the program could continue to move forward as planned. We remain hopeful that all manufacturers will negotiate in good faith and that the second round of negotiations will deliver significant savings – in line with the 62% average list price reduction achieved in the first round of negotiations. – (STAT News, Bloomberg, Inside Health Policy, Endpoints News, Fierce Healthcare, Inside Health Policy, Endpoints News)

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