The US government released on Tuesday a list of ten drugs that will be included in the first round of Medicare price negotiations to reduce its costs.
On March 1, 2023, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) came into force. Through this regulation, the US will force large pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of 27 drugs because the costs have risen above the rate of inflation in the last two years.
Specifically, this measure grants Medicare (a federal health insurance program for people 65 and older) the power to negotiate prices on the most expensive drugs.
The first ten drugs under negotiation are Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis; Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance; Xarelto, by Janssen; Januvia, from MSD; Farxiga, by AstraZeneca; Entresto, by Novartis; Enbrel, from Amgen and Janssen; Imbruvica, from AbbVie; Stelara, by Janssen; Fiasp; and Novolog, Novo Nordisk’s insulin brands.
These drugs are among the highest overall spenders on Medicare, the United States government said in a statement. The price reduction must be at least 25%, although the administration could negotiate even larger discounts.
Negotiations on the costs of this first group of drugs will begin later this year. However, they will not come into force until 2026. The aim of this measure is to save 25,000 million dollars (almost 22,500 million euros) annually by 2031.
