1. Pink Sheet

Big Rebates Already A Big Factor For Drugs On Medicare Negotiation List

 
• By Cathy Kelly

Long-awaited list has a couple of surprises that are expected to face biosimilar competition either before negotiated prices are implemented in 2026 or during that year.

over inflated drugs
Many of the drugs picked by Medicare appear to have list prices inflated by rebates. • Source: Shutterstock

Most of the 10 drugs chosen for the first round of Medicare price negotiation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are heavily rebated, which raises the question of how much lower prices will go in the negotiation process.

Drugs Facing Medicare-Negotiated Prices in 2026

  • Bristol Myers Squibb/Pfizer’s anticoagulant Eliquis

  • Janssen’s anticoagulant Xarelto

  • Novartis’ Entresto for heart failure

  • Merck’s antidiabetic Januvia

  • Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance for diabetes and heart failure,

  • AstraZeneca’s Farxiga for diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease

  • Novo Nordisk’s Fiasp and Novolog insulin aspart products for diabetes

The list of Part D drugs was released by CMS on 29 August. It includes products with gross Part D spending that ranged between $2

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