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Novo Nordisk has agreed to a price for its semaglutide products (Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus) under the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, according to executives speaking on the company's third quarter earnings callAlthough Novo did not reveal the negotiated price, the company noted that “the estimated direct impact of semaglutide MFP in Medicare Part D had it been introduced 1 January 2025 would have been a negative low single-digit impact on global sales growth for the full year of 2025." JP Morgan analysts have characterized this as "better than feared"CMS is expected to publish any agreed-upon MFPs resulting from the second cycle of Medicare drug price negotiations by November 30, 2025
Eli Lilly has announced plans to build a new $3 billion manufacturing plant in Katwijk, the Netherlands, to expand its production capacity ahead of launch for orforglipron, its experimental weight-loss pillLilly already has European manufacturing plants in France, Ireland, Italy and Spain, with additional facilities already planned in Germany and IrelandThe move goes against the recent wave of companies leaving Europe to invest in manufacturing sites in the U.S.; Lilly itself recently announced a new $6.5 billion manufacturing facility at Generation Park in Texas, joining the likes of Johnson & Johnson (J&J), AbbVie, Biogen, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Gilead, Takeda, Roche, and Novartis, who have all recently allocated additional investment to the U.S.
The UK pharma industry and government have, once again, extended the deadline for companies to leave the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing (VPAG) to November 14, 2025Cigna’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Evernorth Health Services, announced an initiative to transition from its traditional rebate-based pharmacy benefit model to upfront discountsNovartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told Reuters that the company is considering adding more medicines to its direct-to-patient (DTP) platform
China's annual NRDL negotiations kicked off in Beijing, focusing first on drugs with clear pricing like antivirals, anesthetics, and chronic disease medicines. Oncology drugs and tough-to-negotiate items are saved for last. Talks for the new Commercial Insurance Innovative Drug List will immediately follow, in late October and early NovemberWhile the exact number of drugs entering negotiations is undisclosed, hundreds of drugs that are not currently listed on the NRDL are eligible. Blockbusters from Novartis and Novo Nordisk and multiple CAR-T therapies are likely to enter negotiationsChina launched the Commercial Insurance Innovative Drug List for newer, pricey, cutting-edge drugs. Those that qualify for both lists but fail the basic NRDL talks can pivot here. It's open to rare disease treatments and generics approved in the past five years, offering an alternative for high-cost medicines falling outside basic insurance criteria
The preliminary results of China’s 11th round of volume-based procurement (VBP) were announced, covering 55 drugs for a wide range of therapeutic areas, and representing a 75% fulfillment rate of all orders from 46,000 medical institutionsThe successful bidders’ winning prices have not been officially disclosed, but the average price cut among both winning and non-winning bids is thought to be around 61%Officials sought to prevent involution (bid-rigging) while ensuring quality and honoring brand preferences, so smaller “barefoot companies” can no longer solely win based on steep price cuts but must consider long-term factors like brand-building, quality, and clinical reputation
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories is pinning its next growth phase on new launches in the GLP-1 segment, pipeline expansion, and cost optimization across global marketsM.V. Ramana, CEO Branded Markets (India and Emerging Markets), told Business Today that the company remains confident about its GLP-1 portfolio. “We expect semaglutide to be the first among our GLP-1 products to reach markets once patent expiries occur. The need for such therapies in India is significant, and accessibility through affordable pricing will help expand the category,” he saidThe company expects upcoming products such as semaglutide and abatacept to play a key role in its expansion strategy
Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told Reuters that the company is considering adding more medicines to its direct-to-patient (DTP) platform At the end of September, Novartis announced a new DTP model intended to offer Cosentyx (secukinumab) to cash-paying patients at a 55% discount off the list priceCosentyx will be available at this new cash price starting November 1, 2025
The UK pharma industry and government have, once again, extended the deadline for companies to leave the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing (VPAG) to November 14, 2025Companies that decide to leave must transfer to the statutory pricing scheme and cannot reverse their decision. Companies that do not submit notice must remain in the scheme throughout 2026Recent withdrawals and suspended projects echo mounting concerns about stagnation in the UK, with the VPAG rates being a large part of the issue. Industry leaders and government officials agree that urgent action is needed to restore confidence and secure the UK’s future as an innovation hub. Global policy shifts are compounding the issues the UK faces, as tariff threats and the Trump administration’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) loom, drawing investment from the UK to the U.S.
Cigna’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Evernorth Health Services, announced an initiative to transition from its traditional rebate-based pharmacy benefit model to upfront discountsAccording to the company, the new approach will cut out its post-purchase rebate process by making the discounted price of a drug available upfront to U.S. patients. Cigna intends to adopt this new model for its fully insured lives beginning in 2027 and it will become the standard model available for all Evernorth pharmacy benefits clients beginning in 2028 Cigna is also adopting other changes, including a new reimbursement model starting in 2026 that compensates pharmacies based on their cost for medications plus a dispensing fee and additional reimbursement for the essential clinical services they provide to patients
While evidence grows that U.S. President Donald Trump’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) policy is already having direct effects on other markets, the Trump administration is considering a new investigation into drug prices. The probe would fall under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and could result in additional tariffs on imported pharmaceutical productsThe UK says that it is close to a deal with the U.S., potentially trading lower tariffs on UK pharma exports for higher spending on medicinesGermany's Federal Council (Bundestag) has adopted a resolution aimed at bolstering the pharmaceutical industry by cutting red tape and modernizing outdated regulatory frameworks
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