Price Negotiation Purgatory: Upcoming Biosimilars Couldn’t Keep Stelara, NovoLog Off The List

Neither product counts as an ‘extended monopoly’ drug under the Inflation Reduction Act, meaning biosimilar entry cannot prevent Medicare from negotiating its price.

novolog racer
Biosimilars may not have moved fast enough to win NovoLog’s Medicare market share. • Source: Shutterstock

The inclusion of Janssen Biotech Inc.’s Stelara (ustekinumab) and Novo Nordisk A/S’s NovoLog (insulin aspart) in the initial Medicare price negotiation list surprised some observers. Many thought biosimilar competition on the horizon may disqualify them.

A little-known Inflation Reduction Act provision appears to have negated the move, along with the competing biosimilars’ development timelines

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