In an open letter to the U.S. Congress, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), led by Stephen Ubl and including the board members of numerous major pharmaceutical companies, has expressed grave concerns regarding the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Merck is a PhRMA member.

Despite attempting to curtail the rate of drug spending, Biden has aimed to boost innovation in the pharma sector through his National Cancer Plan. The initiative would increase funding for certain oncology programs.

Following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, the government outlined its strategy for negotiating drug prices with manufacturers. This roadmap represented a concrete step toward implementing the drug pricing reform, which would go into effect in 2026.

CMS proposed a rule to rescind the Most Favored Nation Model Interim Final Rule, signaling a reversal of the Trump administration’s policy​

Merck & Co. announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government to stop the Medicare drug price negotiation program within the Inflation Reduction Act. The pharmaceutical company argued that this program violated the Fifth and First Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. This marked the first attempt by a pharmaceutical company to..Read More

President Biden, as part of the Build Back Better Framework, introduced a plan to address the rising costs of prescription drugs in the U.S. This plan opened a path to allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, an action that the pharmaceutical industry has resisted.

President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law on March 11, 2021. The President enacted the monumental $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact.

This legislation gave the U.S. government the power to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies. It was hailed as a significant move to curb skyrocketing healthcare costs, though it drew criticism from various stakeholders within the pharmaceutical industry.