We’re reading about Medicare drug prices, a Sanofi MS pill

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite — which was extended on our side of the pond — was refreshing and invigorating, because that oh-so familiar routine of deadlines, phone calls, and online meetings has predictably returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin. So time to give it a nudge in a better direction with a cup or three of stimulation. Our choice today is tiramisu. Sweets for the sweet, you know. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest to get you going. Hope you have a smashing day, and do stay in touch. …

The U.S. government’s first-ever negotiated prices for prescription drugs are still on average more than double, and in some cases five times, what drugmakers have agreed to in four other high-income countries, a Reuters review found. The U.S. Medicare health plan, which covers more than 67 million people, recently unveiled new maximum prices for the first 10 high-cost medicines negotiated under the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The lower prices will result in savings of $6 billion in 2026, the first year they take effect, but a review of publicly available maximum prices set by other wealthy nations — Australia, Japan, Canada, and Sweden — show that they have negotiated far lower prices for the same drugs. A 30-day supply of nine of the 10 drugs will cost $17,581 for Medicare in 2026, compared with $6,725 in Sweden this year.

The European Court of Justice ruled that regulators overstepped in challenging Illumina’s acquisition of Grail, finding that the European Commission did not have jurisdiction over the deal, STAT notes. The decision will not have a major impact on the Illumina-Grail relationship, since Illumina divested the cancer screening company over the summer. But as a result, Illumina will not have to pay the $475 million fine the the commission sought to impose. The judgment from the court also amounts to a rebuke of European regulators, with possible implications for future antitrust investigations. The deal had attracted scrutiny despite Grail’s lack of a European presence, and in its decision, the court said the commission “is not authorized” to pursue cases “without a European dimension.”