Welcome to the Week in Review.
Trump Revives Global Drug Pricing Debate
This week, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) focused on addressing the high cost of prescription drugs. One key provision aims to align U.S. prices with those in other high-income nations — a concept referred to as “Most Favored Nation” (MFN). Right now, Americans pay the highest drug prices in the world for two main reasons: U.S. policy allows drug companies to set launch prices and raise them at will, and unlike other countries that negotiate prices for nearly all prescription drugs, the U.S. only recently began limited negotiation for a small set of expensive drugs through Medicare. That’s why international reference pricing frameworks like MFN are worth exploring — but only if they’re done right. P4ADNow supports pursuing a better deal for Americans — including through the widely popular Medicare Negotiation program — however, any MFN policy must meaningfully lower prices for U.S. patients, without driving up costs or limiting access abroad, and should include strong guardrails to prevent drug companies from exploiting new loopholes. Check out P4ADNow’s Executive Director Merith Basey’s interview on the EO on Univision. — [New York Times, Forbes, Epoch Times, Citeline, Healthcare Finance, STAT News, Endpoints News, Reuters, POLITICO, Washington Post, Bloomberg Law, USA Today]
Another Win for Patients and Another Warning For Big Pharma In Court
Patients netted a massive victory this week, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected AstraZeneca’s challenge to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program in a unanimous ruling — affirming that Medicare can and should be negotiating lower drug prices on behalf of seniors and people with disabilities. This ruling marks the first appellate decision evaluating and upholding the negotiation program’s core framework, and it serves as a warning to other drug companies attempting to protect their outrageous profits through the court. As Michael Lieberman of Fairmark Partners — the firm representing P4AD in amicus briefs — told Inside Health Policy, the decision is a “positive sign for the government regarding how the Third Circuit might rule in other cases.” To date, P4AD has submitted four amicus briefs on behalf of patients and has signed onto seven amicus briefs in our campaign to challenge Big Pharma’s attempts to undermine Medicare negotiation through the U.S. legal system. — [Endpoints News, Inside Health Policy, P4AD, Pink Sheet, Bloomberg Law, Reuters, FirstWord Pharma, Law360]
The ORPHAN Cures Act Would Undermine Patient Savings
On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the ORPHAN Cures Act (H.R. 946), which was included in a larger reconciliation bill largely focused on Medicaid. Driven predominantly by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies, ORPHAN Cures would create an unnecessary loophole in the Medicare Negotiation Program, allowing even more drugs to avoid price negotiation — including those indicated for multiple rare diseases — right before the first round of negotiated prices takes effect in January. Medicare negotiation is on the verge of delivering $1.5 billion in savings to nine million patients and $6 billion in taxpayer savings, so the last thing Americans need is a new loophole for the pharmaceutical industry to exploit. Thousands of P4ADNow patient advocates have sent letters demanding Congress vote no on ORPHAN Cures, and P4ADNow is urging Congress to side with patients and stop the progression of this harmful bill. — [Congress.gov, CMS]
Endorsing the No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act
On Wednesday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act to eliminate a tax break that fuels the flood of prescription drug ads designed to boost profits for Big Pharma and drive up prices for patients. The U.S. is one of just two countries that even allows direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising — there’s no reason taxpayers should be footing the bill for it. We’re proud to support Senators Shaheen and Hawley’s common-sense reform to put patients before pharma profits. — [Inside Health Policy]
ICYMI
Patients For Affordable Drugs’ founder and president, David Mitchell, has been included in Washingtonian’s Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2025 for the third year in a row. David’s commitment to reforming the drug price system without taking a penny from industry has made him one of the most trusted and influential voices on this issue.
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