Ep. 64 - NPC CEO John O’Brien: Why America Needs an Honest Conversation About Drug Pricing

Ignorance about the path from scientific discovery to approved drugs, high out-of-pocket costs, and a byzantine healthcare system that obscures net prices while inflating list prices have fueled policies that threaten biomedical progress, John O’Brien, CEO of think tank National Pharmaceutical Council, told BioCentury.
In an interview with The BioCentury Show's Steve Usdin, O’Brien, who led efforts to reduce drug prices as an HHS official during the Trump administration, said that whoever wins the White House in November will step into a political atmosphere that is hostile to biopharma companies. While it is difficult to predict what drug pricing policies Trump would pursue if he is re-elected, “Beltway chatter” suggests he would undercut the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug price negotiation program and attempt to revive international reference pricing proposals, O’Brien said.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/652931

#biotech #biopharma #pharma #lifescience #politics #policy #law #IRA #healthcare

00:00 - Intro
01:15 - Drug Pricing Policy Overview
09:30 - Inflation Reduction Act
16:20 - A Byzantine Healthcare System