Trump reveals pharma reform priorities in drug pricing executive order
At the top of the new executive order’s priorities for pharma is the pill penalty, which Trump said threatens innovation and favors biologics. Currently, small molecule drugs are eligible for price negotiations sooner than biologics — nine years versus 13 years — and critics have said the law disincentivizes small molecule R&D. The order asks Kennedy to work with Congress to end “the distortion that undermines relative investment in small molecule prescription drugs.”
“We’re already seeing it where research is being skewed from small molecules to biologics,” said Wayne Winegarden, senior fellow and director of the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the Pacific Research Institute. “Government policy shouldn’t be influencing whether you’re prioritizing biologics over small molecules. So I think putting those on parity is an important improvement of the current system.”
Read More