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The first round of Medicare drug price negotiations has come to an end – but we still don't know the final prices that the U.S. government and pharmaceutical companies have agreed on. They all maintain that Medicare drug price negotiations are a long-term threat to the pharmaceutical industry's drug innovation and profits, but the immediate dust has somewhat settled. That's based on executive commentary during the recent quarterly earnings calls of Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson , among other companies. Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan said on July 18 that the short-term impact from Medicare drug price negotiations "might be manageable on our first set of drugs." Executives at each of the drugmakers similarly emphasized their opposition to Medicare drug price negotiations on their respective earnings calls.

Persons: Joe Biden, Johnson, Joe Biden's, Christopher Boerner, Bristol Myers, Robert Michael, We've, Michael, Jennifer Taubert, Vasant Narasimhan, Narasimhan, Bristol Myers Squibb's Boerner, Boehringer Ingelheim, Annika Organizations: National Institutes of Health, Medicare, Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson, Pfizer, J, Novartis, Merck, Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca Locations: Bethesda , Maryland, U.S, annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com

☆ Drugmaker Novartis climbs 4.4% after guidance rise on sales of blockbuster drugs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Signage for Novartis AG at a building in the company's headquarters campus in Basel, Switzerland, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2023. Shares of Swiss drugmaker Novartis climbed as much as 4.8% in early deals on Tuesday, after the company raised its full-year guidance following better-than-expected first-quarter results. Novartis' net sales rose 11% in the first three months of the year, while core operating income increased 22% over the same period. Narasimhan said the company continued to advance its drug pipeline in the first quarter, including treatments for prostate cancer and leukemia. "The momentum in our business and pipeline gives us continued confidence in our mid- and long-term growth outlook," he said.

Persons: Vas Narasimhan, Narasimhan Organizations: Novartis AG, Swiss, Novartis Locations: company's, Basel, Switzerland, London

☆ Novartis lifts guidance after first-quarter results beat expectations
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is displayed on the exterior of the Novartis AG Institutes for BioMedical Research building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Tuesday raised its full-year guidance after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results. In a statement, it said 2024 net sales would likely grow by a high-single to low double-digit percentage with adjusted operating income expected to grow by a low double-digit to mid-teens percentage. It has previously predicted that adjusted operating income would increase by a "high single-digit" percentage with "mid single-digit" sales growth. Quarterly adjusted operating income gained 16% to $4.54 billion, beating an average analyst estimate of about $4.3 billion.

Persons: Bristol Myers, Giovanni Caforio, Joerg Reinhardt, Vas Narasimhan, Sandoz Organizations: Novartis, Institutes, Research, Bristol, Bristol Myers Squibb Locations: Cambridge , Massachusetts, U.S

☆ Ozempic, Mounjaro and hundreds of other drugs become even more expensive in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Novo Nordisk boosted the list price of Ozempic by 3.5% to $969 for a four-week supply. Eli Lilly last month raised the list price of Mounjaro by 4.5% to $1,069 for a four-week supply. However, they may have to pay the list price if they are uninsured or have not yet hit their annual deductible. Former President Donald Trump, who is running for election again, also unveiled several proposals and issued executive orders aimed at lowering drug costs during his administration. Another factor is the recent policies that penalize pharmaceutical manufacturers for raising list prices faster than inflation.

Persons: Drugmakers, Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, Ozempic, Eli Lily, Marlene Foss, Foss, “, ”, Mark Rapp, Rapp, ’ ”, Mark Rapp's, grandkids, ” Rapp, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, We’ve, Antonio Ciaccia, we’ve Organizations: New, New York CNN, Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, CNN, Food and Drug Administration, Nordisk’s, Mounjaro, Medicare, ”, White House Locations: New York, Portugal, Doylestown , Pennsylvania, Italy, Mansfield , Ohio, Ohio, Idaho

☆ The Biden administration is negotiating lower prices for 10 medications with drug manufacturers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Biden administration announced Tuesday it is beginning talks with drug makers behind 10 expensive medications to lower prices for recipients of Medicare, the national health insurance program for older Americans and people with disability status. The negotiations are expected to last until 2024, with the lower prices expected to go into effect in 2026. The Congressional Budget Office "estimated that price negotiation will lower average drug prices paid by Medicare and will reduce the budget deficit by $25 billion in 2031." "Negotiating provides us a critical tool to ensure they get those prescription drugs at lower prices – just as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has done for years." AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Biden administration has recently taken aim at high drug prices and high profits at pharmaceutical companies.

Persons: —, Biden, Juliette Cubanski, Harris, Xavier Becerra, Jardiance, Eli Lilly Organizations: Service, Congressional, Medicare, Biden, Harris Administration, Human Services, U.S . Department of Veterans Affairs, HHS, Centers, Services

☆ Drugmakers opt in to Medicare drug price negotiations – here's what happens next
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A pharmacist holds a bottle of the drug Eliquis, made by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, January 9, 2020. All drugmakers of the first 10 medicines selected for Medicare drug price negotiations have agreed to participate in the talks, even after many of them sued to halt the process last month. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not immediately respond to a request to confirm that all drugmakers agreed to the talks. President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year, empowered Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in the program's six-decade history. The pharmaceutical industry also argues that the process will threaten revenue growth, profits and drug innovation.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson Januvia, Merck Farxiga, Novartis Enbrel, Amgen Imbruvica, AbbVie Stelara, Janssen, Bristol Myers, Biden Organizations: Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, CNBC, Medicare, Services, Sunday, Bristol Myers Squibb Jardiance, Johnson, Merck, AstraZeneca Entresto, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, U.S, CMS, Bristol, Bristol Myers Squibb Locations: Provo , Utah

☆ Medicare's drug-price negotiations will save the government billions in healthcare spending — but patients may not feel the benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Natalie Rahhal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Patients with private health insurance aren't likely to see a drop in costs from the negotiations. Longo said the price-setting provisions will drive research and investment away from treatment options for Medicare patients. If drug companies won't come to the negotiating table to lower drug prices paid by private insurers, those insurers could take the companies' drugs off their lists of covered medications. Or, if private insurance companies don't negotiate drug prices down for their patients, patients in some cases could seek out different insurance. "These are not full solutions, but they are the beginning of cracks in the facade" of drug companies' constant price hikes, Feldman said.

Persons: Biden, Juliette Cubanski, Jeffrey Davis, Davis, Richard Frank, —, Nicole Longo, Longo, it's, — aren't, Robin Feldman, Feldman, Cuban's Organizations: Medicare, Healthcare, Morning, Centers, Services, Congressional, McDermott, Consulting, Brookings Schaeffer Initiative, Health, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, PhRMA, University of California Law School, Costco, Pharmaceutical Locations: Lower

☆ Opinion | The Promise and Risk of Biden’s War on Drug Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In a textbook free market, “fair” is whatever the market will bear. But these drugs don’t fit that model. Patents protect them from competition, allowing their producers to price them high. On the other hand, because of their high upfront development costs, pricing the drugs very low, at marginal cost, would be unrealistic. If that’s all the manufacturers earned from them, they would have no incentive to stay in business and develop new drugs.

Persons: Biden, Seshamani — Organizations: Big Pharma, pharma, Producers

The medications on the list are taken by millions of older Americans and cost Medicare billions of dollars annually. The drugs were selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through a process that prioritized medications that account for the highest Medicare spending, have been on the market for years and do not yet face competition from rivals. Drugs Selected for Price Negotiations1. Eliquis, for preventing strokes and blood clots, from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer2. Xarelto, for preventing strokes and blood clots, from Johnson & Johnson4.

Persons: Biden, Price, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Johnson Organizations: Tuesday, Medicare, Centers, Services, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Johnson, Merck, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Novo Nordisk Locations: AbbVie, Novo

He said that once implemented, the prices on negotiated drugs will decrease for up to 9 million seniors who currently pay as much as $6,497 in out-of-pocket costs per year for these prescriptions. This kicks off the negotiation process for the 10 drugs whose new prices will go into effect in 2026. U.S. laws had prohibited Medicare from negotiating pharmaceutical prices as part of its prescription drug program that began about 20 years ago. CMS Director Dr. Meena Seshamani said Medicare plans to use a review process to make sure insurance companies keep clinically appropriate access to negotiated drugs. Two analysts said they expect the negotiated prices to move beyond Medicare and affect commercial markets for these drugs by 2026, when they come into effect.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Biden, Joe Biden’s, Januvia, Xarelto, Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly's, Jardiance, Mohit Bansal, Entresto, Eli Lilly, Merck, Bristol Myers, Giovanni Caforio, Caforio, enrollees, Meena Seshamani, Stelara, Amgen, Evan Seigerman, Patrick Wingrove, Mike Erman, Manas Mishra, Nandita Bose, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Social Security, University of Tampa, REUTERS, U.S, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Merck, Co's, Johnson, Novo Nordisk, NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical, U.S . Centers, Medicare, Medicaid Services, Reuters Graphics Wells, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Bristol, J, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, BMO Capital, Thomson Locations: Tampa , Florida, U.S, Amgen's, Jardiance, Germany, Bengaluru, Washington

☆ Biden administration unveils first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Fiasp and NovoLog, insulins made by Novo Nordisk The Medicare negotiations are the centerpiece of the Biden administration's efforts to rein in the rising cost of medications in the U.S. Drugmakers such as Merck and Johnson & Johnson and their supporters aim to derail the negotiations, filing at least eight lawsuits in recent months seeking to declare the policy unconstitutional. Drugmakers' legal challengesMerck, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Astellas Pharma are among the companies suing to halt the negotiation process. The suits make similar and overlapping claims that Medicare negotiations are unconstitutional. Biden and his top health officials have embraced the lawsuits as evidence that they're making progress in the fight to cut drug prices.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden's, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson Januvia, Merck Farxiga, Novartis Enbrel, Amgen Imbruvica, AbbVie Stelara, Janssen, insulins, Johnson, Leigh Purvis, Drugmakers, drugmakers, Robert Davis Organizations: Bristol, Myers Squibb Jardiance, Johnson, Merck, AstraZeneca Entresto, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Medicare, Centers, Services, Biden, AARP Public, Institute, Congressional, Office, Myers Squibb, Astellas Pharma, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Supreme, Court, Circuit Court, Pharma, White, Big Pharma Locations: U.S, Bristol

☆ Novo says Wegovy drug helps obese people with heart failure in trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO: A selection of injector pens for the Wegovy weight loss drug are shown in this photo illustration in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 31, 2023. The trial with 529 volunteers focused on a heart condition known as preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF, where heart muscles stiffen and draw in less blood, mainly affecting overweight people. HFpEF accounts for about half of heart failure cases, with symptoms including shortness of breath and swelling of extremities. Showing specific medical benefits is crucial for Novo's push to move Wegovy beyond its image as a lifestyle drug. It is unclear, though, what conclusions regulators and physicians will draw from the STEP HFpEF results because other heart failure treatments are emerging.

Persons: Jim Vondruska, Wegovy, ”, Martin Lange, Danish drugmaker, Farxiga, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, Ludwig Burger, Jason Neely, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Danish, Novo, United States, Europe, Germany

☆ Novartis raises 2023 forecast, maps out Sandoz spin-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Novartis AG FollowSandoz GmbH FollowFRANKFURT, July 18 (Reuters) - Novartis (NOVN.S) on Tuesday raised its full-year earnings forecast on strong drug sales and mapped out the planned spin-off and stock market debut of its generic medicines division Sandoz for early October. The Swiss drugmaker said in a statement it expected group core operating income to grow by a "low double-digit" percentage in 2023, up from high single-digit growth previously projected. Novartis shareholders will vote on the proposed Sandoz spin-off and complete separation at an extraordinary general meeting on Sept. 15. Gains were driven by better-than-expected sales of heart failure drug Entresto, up 37% in local currencies at $1.52 billion. Kesimpta, a new once-a-month injection against multiple sclerosis, also beat expectations with quarterly revenues more than doubling to $489 million.

Persons: Swiss drugmaker, Sandoz, Harry Kirsch ., Kirsch, Ludwig Burger, Rachel More, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Novartis, Sandoz, FRANKFURT, SIX Swiss Exchange, Swiss pharma, Thomson Locations: Swiss, United States, New Jersey

☆ Novartis stock jumps after drugmaker raises full-year guidance, launches $15 billion buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Novartis shares jumped on Tuesday after the Swiss drugmaker raised its full-year guidance on strong drug sales and announced a $15 billion share buyback. Novartis expects sales to rise by a high-single-digit percentage in 2023, an increase from a previous expectation of mid-single-digit growth. Novartis reported total revenue of $13.62 billion for the quarter, up around 7% from $12.78 billion the same period a year ago. The company's innovative medicines business, which develops patented medicines, raked in sales of $11.24 billion for the quarter. The company's generic medicines division, Sandoz, posted sales of $2.38 billion, up 5% from a year ago.

Persons: Sandoz, Roche Organizations: Novartis, Refinitiv, Sandoz Locations: Swiss, U.S

☆ Novartis says operating profit to grow again ahead of Sandoz spin-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Full-year core operating income was broadly flat at $16.7 billion, it said in a statement, coming in slightly below market expectations of $16.8 billion. Novartis shares were down 1.3% in early trade on Wednesday and have fallen about 11% since January 2020, underperforming most rivals. They were also disappointed by guidance for Sandoz's core operating income to decline by a "low double digit" percentage in 2023 due to cost inflation and investments to make it a stand-alone entity. MS drug Kesimpta, which requires fewer injections than standard therapies, is expected to become Novartis' second largest growth driver in 2023, after Entresto. Novartis shares lagReporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Josephine Mason and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Novartis says operating profit to grow again ahead of Sandoz spin off
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Novartis on Wednesday predicted that core operating income would grow in a "mid single digit" percentage range in 2023 following stagnation last year, as the Swiss drugmaker prepares to spin off its Sandoz generics business. Full-year core operating income was broadly flat at $16.7 billion, it said in a statement, coming in slightly below market expectations of $16.8 billion. We're seeing health care systems stabilize a bit more, we're seeing China start to stabilize, and we see a second-half rebound in China. All of those are important tailwinds for a business like ours," he said during an interview in Basel, Switzerland. MS drug Kesimpta, requiring fewer injections than standard therapies, is expected to become Novartis' second largest growth driver in 2023, after Entresto.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSwiss drugmaker Novartis' logo is seen at the company's plant in the northern Swiss town of Stein, Switzerland October 23, 2017. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIt ranked 10th in the U.S. market last year, the company added. Novartis also said it would focus in future on five areas for investment: cardiovascular, immunology, neuroscience, solid tumors and hematology medicine. The company last month said it planned to spin off Sandoz to sharpen its focus on its patented prescription medicines. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Mark Potter and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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