Four Type 2 diabetes drugs are in CMS' lineup of the 10 drugs that face price negotiations between the agency and their makers.
On Aug. 29, CMS released its list of drugs for the first round of price negotiations, a new power alloted through the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022.
With the legislation, Medicare Parts B and D gained negotiation powers for popular drugs with no generic or biosimilar competition. Eligible drugs include brand-name drugs that have been on the market for seven years and biologics for 11 years. The new, negotiated prices become effective in 2026.
Drugmakers have until Oct. 1 to sign an agreement with CMS for the price talks, and CMS said it plans to decide on a "maximum fair price" for each medication by February 2024.
The 10 drugs selected for the first round and their Part D costs from 2022-23:
1. Eliquis, a preventive drug and treatment for blood clots — $16.48 billion
2. Jardiance, a Type 2 diabetes and heart failure drug — $7.06 billion
3. Xarelto, a blood clot preventive drug and treatment, and a medication for coronary and peripheral artery disease — $6.03 billion
4. Januvia, a Type 2 diabetes drug — $4.09 billion
5. Farxiga, a medication for Type 2 diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease — $3.27 billion
6. Entresto, a heart failure drug — $2.88 billion
7. Enbrel, a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis — $2.79 billion
8. Imbruvica, a blood cancer treatment — $2.66 billion
9. Stelara, a drug for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis — $2.64 billion
10. Fiasp, Fiasp FlexTouch, Fiasp PenFill, NovoLog, NovoLog FlexPen, and NovoLog PenFill; Type 2 diabetes drugs — $2.58 billion
Multiple organizations, including drugmakers, healthcare groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have filed suit against CMS and HHS for these price negotiations. It is unclear how these lawsuits could affect the agency's timeline.