The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced the first 10 drugs selected for pricing negotiation as part of the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 (IRA). The negotiations with the relevant pharmaceutical companies will occur in 2023 and 2024, and any price negotiations will come into force in 2026.
The ten drugs selected were:
- Bristol Myers Squibb / Pfizer’s Eliquis® (apixaban)
- Eli Lilly / Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance® (empagliflozin)
- Johnson & Johnson’s Xarelto® (rivaroxaban)
- Merck’s Januvia® (sitagliptin)
- AstraZeneca’s Farxiga® (dapagliflozin)
- Novartis’ Entresto® (sacubitril/valsartan)
- Amgen’s Enbrel® (etanercept)
- AbbVie / Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica® (ibrutinib)
- Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara® (ustekinumab)
- Novo Nordisk’s Novolog®/Fiasp® (insulin aspart)
Only two days after this announcement, on 1 September 2023, Novartis brought proceedings against the US Government, arguing that these pricing negotiations are unconstitutional. Other pharmaceutical companies have also sued the Government on this same legislation, including Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca and the industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.