Each round of Medicare drug-price negotiations reshapes how manufacturers price, package, and defend their products.
For the first time, the rules for the next round are being written directly into federal regulation.
In a recent article by Bloomberg Law, the publication examined that shift. Constance A. Wilkinson, a Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green who focuses on drug pricing and reimbursement policy, was among the attorneys who weighed in on what it could mean for manufacturers.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the rule in mid-June. It would run a fourth cycle of negotiations and set the program through rulemaking, contemplating negotiated prices for about 20 more drugs starting in 2029. One watched provision would extend a drug’s negotiated price to fixed-dose combination versions where the agency sees no clinically meaningful difference. Wilkinson focused on the reach of that provision:
“The impact it can have will be great. You’re taking a whole new subset of drugs and combining them so that you’re getting more drugs into the pipeline in terms of being negotiated. It’s like a multiplier effect.”
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To discuss this perspective, contact Constance A. Wilkinson at cwilkinson@ebglaw.com.
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