The Biden administration has released the first 10 drugs subject to price negotiation with Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and among those chosen were Stelara (ustekinumab) and Enbrel (etanercept), both of which will face biosimilar competition within the next decade.
The 10 drugs, spanning disease states from diabetes to heart failure to rheumatoid arthritis, cost Medicare enrollees a total of $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2022. As required by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), negotiations between Part D and pharmaceutical companies will take place this year and next, with the negotiated prices taking effect in 2026.
On August 29, 2023, the Biden Administration debuted the list of the first 10 drugs identified for price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act. The list, which includes agents indicated for diabetes, heart failure, GI conditions, and arthritis, accounted for more than $50 billion in spending during the evaluation period.