#pharmaceutical-negotiations

#pharmaceutical-negotiations

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the measures are intended to ensure fair distribution while supply issues are addressed, with pharmacies instructed to follow the temporary dispensing limits.

I was devastated. I had been able to get Zepbound for a $30 monthly copay and had lost 50 pounds in a year. The drug helped me focus on being a new mom and gaining strength at the gym, not just counting calories burned.

Senate Republicans voted in the early hours of Thursday morning to reject an amendment offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders that aimed to cut US prescription drug prices in half by mandating that Americans pay no more for medications than people in Canada and other wealthy nations.

According to the patent, a specific crystalline form of the drug known as polymorph C may be more effective than other versions because it is absorbed more efficiently by the body. The patent also notes that laboratory studies showed the drug reduced tumor growth and helped mice with brain tumors live longer, prompting early clinical trials to test whether the treatment is safe and effective in humans.

The IRA requires drugmakers to sell selected patented drugs to the government for its Medicare Parts B & D programs at a stipulated "maximum fair price". If they don't agree to these prices, then they face tax penalties on sales of the drug exceeding their profits from it, or the exclusion of all their drugs from Medicare and Medicaid purchases. This would foreclose access to up to 160 million patients, accounting for around 40% of US prescription drug spending or 20% of global prescription drug spending.

The idea echoes a policy implemented during his first term, when Trump suggested that requiring hospitals to post their charges online could ease one of the most common gripes about the health care system the lack of upfront prices. To anyone who's gotten a bill three months after treatment only to find mysterious charges, the idea seemed intuitive. "You're able to go online and compare all of the hospitals and the doctors and the prices,"

This week in Other Barks & Bites, IPWatchdog's IP news roundup: the House of Representatives passes drug patent legislation, while antitrust legislation targeting patent-related activities is introduced into the Senate and the Trump administration mandates pricing information for pharmaceutical ads; the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issues a pair of precedential decisions on cases with multiple petitions; the USPTO issues marijuana-related trademark guidelines and a notice on modifying patent term adjustment practices;

For years, Congress has signaled that it wants to crack down on Pharmacy Benefit Managers, the middle men that have come under fire for their vertical integration with insurers and their role in spiking drug costs. This week, it finally happened via the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, promptingemployer groups including the Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH) and the ERISA Industry Committee to cheer its passage.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reportedly mulling whether more prescription drugs should be sold over the counter (OTC) at pharmacies. In an interview on Wednesday, FDA commissioner Martin Makary told CNBC that everything should be over the counter except drugs that are deemed unsafe or addictive or that require clinical monitoring. Makary said the agency is reviewing how it decides which drugs can be sold with or without a prescription from a health care practitioner.

"A 'lack of competition and consolidation within the insurance marketplace has led us to higher healthcare costs as a whole.'"