The results of a May executive order aiming to reform drug pricing are beginning to materialize, per an administration announcement Tuesday.
Major pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer has agreed to slash prices on many of its drugs in the U.S. after months of negotiations with the administration. Both those involved in the discussions and observers were uncertain how they would accomplish the president’s directive.
“We talked through the winter, we talked through the spring, we talked through the summer – and we got nowhere,” said Mehmet Oz, ​​administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “It wasn’t until last week that we made a major breakthrough.”
Later, Medicare Director Chris Klomp, whom many credited with achieving the deal, took Oz’s comment even further.
“Mr. President, you have enabled something that as recently as last night, nearly everyone has said was impossible,” Klomp said.
Pfizer has agreed to sell some of its drugs in commercial, Medicare, Medicaid or cash-pay markets for no more than what it charges other countries.
