Novartis warns U.S. plan to curb drug prices could hit key research

 U.S. government plans to rein in drug prices could discourage work in some of Novartis's most promising areas of research, the Swiss drugmaker warned on Friday, urging Washington to rethink the "unintended" effects of its new rules.

U.S. President Joe Biden in August signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which allows the federal Medicare scheme to negotiate prices on some of its most costly drugs.

While small molecule chemical drugs will be subject to negotiated drug prices nine years after regulatory approval, biologic drugs made from living cells would not be affected until after 13 years, according to the legislation.

As a result, some pharmaceutical executives say they are now prioritising biologics, generally injections or infusions, over "small-molecule" drugs, which are mainly pills. But Novartis said that would hit its areas of innovative strength particularly hard.

Lawmakers' intention may be to favour sophisticated biologics over seemingly more conventional chemical drugs, but some of the most promising new treatment approaches belong to the latter group, said Victor Bulto, Novartis's President Innovative Medicines for the U.S. market.

"The most concerning piece in that legislation for us is the price setting after nine years for small molecules and 13 years for biologics," Bulto told Reuters.

"New modalities, like the RNA technologies, or radioligand therapies are actually - under this legislation - considered small molecules and therefore that's a piece of legislation that we would think needs to be changed to benefit innovation and patients down the road," he added.

The United States pays the most globally for its medicines. A nonpartian group used by U.S. Congress to estimate costs of legislation has predicted the IRA's drug pricing provisions will reduce the federal deficit by $237 billion over the next decade.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/novartis-warns-u-plan-curb-142918553.html