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A busy week brings discussions on tariffs, PBMs, and many hearings ahead. (896 words, 4 minutes, 28 seconds)
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Will tariffs hit pharmaceuticals? |
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While pharmaceuticals were spared the U.S. tariffs that shook world markets last week, the respite could be short-lived.
The news: Although pharmaceuticals were among the few goods avoiding immediate tariffs, which began Saturday and range from a 10% base to nearly 50%, President Trump predicted pharma tariffs “at a level that you haven’t seen before,” Reuters reported Friday.
What’s ahead: The U.S. Trade Representative was reportedly planning a 232 investigation to determine if pharmaceutical tariffs are warranted.
The impact: 94% of biotech firms anticipate surging manufacturing costs from tariffs on the EU, while tariffs on Canada and China would have a similar impact, a March survey of BIO members found. “More than 50% of biotech firms predict ‘increased difficulty’ in funding and conducting research if EU tariffs are enacted,” the survey said.
BIO’s view: “Re-onshoring key parts of the biotechnology supply chain to the U.S. and our allies and strengthening the American manufacturing base should be a high priority for both national and economic security. It will take years, though, for this shift and we need to be mindful of the negative consequences of these proposed tariffs,” said BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley. |
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Patient advocates, experts call for PBM reform |
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We need policy to improve patient access to drugs and address middlemen who drive up drug prices, according to participants in a March 27 conference organized by The Hill.
The Health Next Summit, sponsored by the Alliance for Aging Research and the National Pharmaceutical Council, covered a range of issues impacting healthcare access, including policy to reform pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), middlemen who reduce drug access and increase prices.
“We've seen increases in utilization management abuse by Medicare payers and PBMs,” said Sue Peschin of the Alliance for Aging Research. “This is also showing up in the narrowing of prescription drug formularies, more requirements for prior authorization and step therapy.”
Saying he’s “passionate about PBM reform,” U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) said that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) promised legislation to increase PBM transparency would be included in the reconciliation bill currently under discussion.
PBMs drive up the price of drugs, said John M. O’Brien, President & CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council: “We need as much innovation in how we pay for drugs as we do bringing new medicines to life.”
Reform is possible: PBMs “have been enabled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ lack of guardrails, but this can be fixed, and this is what we work on on a regular basis,” said Peschin. Read more on Bio.News. |
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What Else to Read This Week |
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ICYMI: BIO hosted the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) fly-in in Washington, D.C. (pictured above). Associations and companies from 30 states held over 150 meetings with lawmakers about the economic footprint of the biotech industry, restoration of R&D tax deductions, and reauthorization of the SBIR program. The bioscience industry directly employs over 2 million Americans with a footprint in every U.S. state and generated over $3 trillion for the U.S. economy in 2023.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plays a critical role in the innovation ecosystem. “For decades, the NIH has functioned like a giant venture capital firm operating on behalf of the American taxpayer. It makes tens of thousands of small investments in basic scientific research each year that—in the aggregate—yield enormous societal returns,” John Conrad, Board Chairman of the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) and President & CEO of the Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization, writes in Fast Company. “Without NIH grants, this entire cycle of innovation would never begin, because private companies could never justify funding extremely early-stage basic research with unclear commercial applications on their own.”
April is Sarcoidosis Awareness Month. Sarcoidosis is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of granulomas—tiny clumps of inflammatory cells—in one or more organs of the body. Karin Hoelzer, BIO Senior Director of Patient Advocacy, and Tricha Shivas, Chief of Staff and Strategy at the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, explore how effective collaboration between the biopharmaceutical industry, the advocacy community, and other key stakeholders can speed the path to a cure. Read more on Bio.News.
BIO joins Animal Agtech Innovation Summit. Sylvia Wulf, BIO’s Interim Head of Agriculture and Environment, and Mark Walton, BIO’s Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, will host a session Wednesday at the Animal Agtech Innovation Summit in Dallas—read Wulf’s pre-event interview.
BIO member to discuss challenges and success in running small biotechs. Watch online when Sheila Mikhail, CEO of BIO Member Jurata, speaks to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s 44th Annual Small Business Forum in DC on April 10. A serial entrepreneur with five starts and five exits, Mikhail will discuss the investment environment and challenges in financing small biotechs. |
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