The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has launched a wide-ranging investigation into prescription drug pricing in the United States.
Yesterday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform launched a wide-ranging investigation into prescription drug pricing in the United States.
The committee’s chair, Representative Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, sent letters to 12 drug makers seeking information and documents related to pricing practices. According to the committee’s statement, the letters seek further information about price increases, investments in research and development, and corporate strategies to defend market share. The committee will next hold a series of hearings on drug pricing.
“The Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating the actions of drug companies in raising prescription drug prices in the United States, as well as the effects of these actions on federal and state budgets and on American families,” Cummings wrote in a statement announcing the investigation. “For years, drug companies have been aggressively increasing prices on existing drugs and setting higher launch prices for new drugs while recording windfall profits. The goals of this investigation are to determine why drug companies are increasing prices so dramatically, how drug companies are using the proceeds, and what steps can be taken to reduce prescription drug prices.”
Among the products that are subject to the investigation are AbbVie’s brand-name adalimumab, Humira; Amgen’s etanercept, Enbrel; and Sanofi’s insulin glargine, Lantus. All 3 of these products are the targets of as-yet unrealized biosimilar and follow-on competition:
Additional products that are subject to the committee’s investigation are cancer drugs imatinib (Novartis’ Gleevec) and lenalidomide (Celgene’s Revlimid), pain drug pregabalin (Pfizer’s Lyrica), and glatiramer acetate (Teva’s Copaxone), among others.
CHMP Pushes 3 Biosimilars Forward, Spelling Hope for Ophthalmology, Supportive Care Markets
February 6th 2025The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended 3 biosimilars and new indications for reference biologics, moving them closer to final European approval and expanding patient access.
Biosimilars Policy Roundup for September 2024—Podcast Edition
October 6th 2024On this episode of Not So Different, we discuss the FDA's approval of a new biosimilar for treating retinal conditions, which took place in September 2024 alongside other major industry developments, including ongoing legal disputes and broader trends in market dynamics and regulatory challenges.
BioRationality: No More Biosimilars—Just Biogenerics
February 3rd 2025Sarfaraz K. Niazi, PhD, argues that regulatory agencies should eliminate redundant clinical efficacy testing for biosimilars, recognizing them as "biogenerics" since physicochemical and in vitro biological comparisons are sufficient to ensure safety and efficacy.
FTC Releases Second Report on PBMs Meddling in Generic Drug Markets
January 19th 2025The 3 largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) increased many specialty generic drugs prices by hundreds of percent, with some drugs seeing thousands of percent markups, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s second interim report on PBM practices.
Improving Biosimilar Access Through Global Regulatory Convergence
January 15th 2025Achieving global regulatory harmonization for biosimilar vaccines and immunotherapies is essential to improving market access, reducing costs, and enhancing patient outcomes by streamlining approval processes, fostering international collaboration, and addressing regulatory disparities.