You Get Cheaper Drugs! You Get Cheaper Drugs! Or Do You?

The IRA was enacted in 2022 by the Biden Administration. (No, not the IRA concerning your retirement funds!) Known as the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRA helps those on Medicare by taking important steps to reduce drug prices.  For the first time in decades, Medicare is permitted to negotiate with companies to reduce costs of the most expensive drugs.  In addition, it is dramatically reducing prices of one key drug. Insulin prices were capped at $35/month for those on Medicare. While this legislation is a massive step in the right direction for equal and affordable access to drugs, it does not go far enough.

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In the Market for Affordable Medicines

Patents and pandemics.  At first, these two things might not seem too related.  Beyond patenting useful things for a pandemic – personal protective equipment, medicines, etc. – what do they have to do with one another?  Well, it turns out that the COVID-19 pandemic has put the spotlight on how to make patented medicines affordable.

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