Experts talk IRA impacts as CMS announces it will publish first 10 drugs up for negotiation in September

Feature By: Lei Lei Wu

News Reporter, Endpoints

Experts went back and forth on the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, on the biopharma industry in a virtual panel hosted by Endpoints News at JP Morgan Wednesday.

The major drug pricing reform passed last year and allowed Medicare drug price negotiations for the first time ever. It also capped senior drug expenses at $2,000 a year and insulin costs at $35 a month.

Wednesday morning, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its timeline for negotiations. In a media call, CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said, “Our actions this year will culminate in the announcement of a list of 10 part D, high-spend brand name drugs to participate in the negotiation program.”

CMS plans to publish that list in September. After that, it will negotiate with drug manufacturers, and in September 2024, CMS expects to publish its maximum fair prices for said drugs, which will be effective in 2026.

Experts on Endpoints’ IRA panel noted that they were watching what maximum fair prices will look like. Manatt Health senior advisor Ian Spatz said, “Are we cutting off the entire tail of revenue after nine years for a small molecule drug and 13 for a biologic? We don’t know that today because we don’t know what a maximum fair price is going to be.” Under the IRA, new small molecule drugs will have nine years before they can be sold at a CMS-negotiated price, while biologics have 13

Read more...