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Rx Importation: Califf's Switch Means US FDA Commissioners No Longer Uniformly Opposed

 
• By Michael Cipriano

In JAMA editorial, former FDA chief supports drug importation under narrow circumstances as a way to reduce drug prices, marking a shift from his previous stance on the issue and that of other past agency heads. Essay, co-authored by former CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt, calls importation "a workaround born of desperation." 

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Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf Expresses Support For Drug Importation.

US Food and Drug Administration commissioners have almost universally opposed importing drugs from foreign countries as a mechanism to reduce drug prices, but Robert Califf now looks to have bucked that trend. At least somewhat.

Writing in an 23 April Journal of the American Medical Association editorial with former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt, the former Obama health officials refer to drug importation as "a

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More from Pricing Debate

Medicare Negotiation Does Not Violate Due Process, Appeals Court Rules, Other Suits At Risk

 
• By Cathy Kelly

Decision in AstraZeneca’s lawsuit against the Health and Human Services Department is a precedent-setting victory for the government and a blow to manufacturer efforts to block the price negotiation program.

Most Favored Nation Pricing Policy Floated In Medicaid, Coming Back To Medicare?

 
• By Cathy Kelly

President Trump's ongoing interest in the policy, which would ensure the US government pays no more for prescription drugs than the lowest price available in comparable countries, continues to gain attention.

Brazil’s Drug Pricing Shake Up Calls For More Robust Evidence From Companies

 
• By Francesca Bruce

Brazil’s drug pricing authorities are planning to introduce, among other things, a new drug category for biosimilars to ensure the pricing procedures for such medicines are reflected in the official pricing framework.

Brazil To Upgrade Pricing Framework To Keep Up With Market Developments

 
• By Francesca Bruce

Brazil plans to clarify its medicine pricing framework, for example by outlining the procedures for setting medicine prices and bring it up to date with recent developments in the sector.

More from Market Access

England: HTA Sandbox Helping To Assess ‘Challenging’ Drugs And Indications

 
• By Eliza Slawther

England’s health technology assessment institute explains how its sandbox environment is helping to test new evaluation methods for drugs or indications with which it does not have experience, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.

EU HTA Regulation: ‘Stepping Beyond’ JCAs May Be Needed For Very Rare Disease Drugs

 
• By Francesca Bruce

Cooperation between health technology assessment bodies across the EU will lead to a better joint clinical assessment process over time, but patients cannot afford a lengthy wait for improvements, speakers at a cell & gene therapy conference said.

EU Pharma Reform: Exclusivity Vouchers Alone Are Insufficient Incentive For Antimicrobials, Industry Says

 
• By Eliza Slawther

European pharma trade associations EFPIA and EUCOPE outline their respective views on how the EU’s pharma legislation overhaul should tackle antimicrobial resistance, and why transferable exclusivity vouchers alone will not suffice as incentives.