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The antipsychotic Vraylar, developed by the Hungarian pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter, has landed on a list of drugs whose prices are to be renegotiated in the United States. The US government wants to reduce the cost of these drugs as part of the Medicare health insurance program.
The Biden administration that left office on Monday, published a list of prescription drugs on Friday whose prices are to be renegotiated as part of the national Medicare program. In addition to Gedeon Richter’s Vraylar that is marketed in the USA by AbbVie, the list includes drugs from Novo Nordisk, GSK and Pfizer.
The companies concerned now have until the end of February to decide whether they will take part in the negotiations with the US government. Otherwise they could face tax penalties.
These can only be avoided if the companies withdraw their drugs completely from the Medicare program, which would entail enormous market losses.
The prices of the affected drugs are scheduled to fall from 2027. In accordance with the law, they would have to become at least 25 percent cheaper, but the US government is probably aiming for higher discounts, writes Világgazdaság.
It is unclear whether President Donald Trump, who took office on Monday, is planning any changes to the program. Officials in the Biden administration have indicated that this is not possible, as the law sets out detailed selection criteria.
Vraylar currently costs US patients around USD 2,000 for a 30-day treatment, but it is available for a much cheaper price under Medicare.
The news is not surprising in that the US government has often taken aim at the prices of subsidized drugs. “It has always been an issue whether Vraylar would get on the list. Now the time has come,” József Miró, senior analyst at Erste Bank, commented on the news.
According to Miró,
Vraylar’s total sales could be affected by the price cut by about USD 1.5 billion, which could mean a loss of less than USD 300 million in sales and about USD 300 million in profit for Gedeon Richter.
On a per-share basis, this is slightly higher than the daily volatility range.
Vraylar, which contains the active ingredient cariprazine, achieved sales of USD 2.34 billion in the entire US market in the first three quarters of 2024. AbbVie will publish the final sales figures for the past year in its financial report on January 31. Gedeon Richter will publish its 2024 report on February 28.
Via cms.gov, Világgagzdaság, erstemarket.hu; Featured image: Hungary Today