Merck, Bristol Myers, AstraZeneca agree to Medicare drug pricing talks
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Merck (NYSE:MRK), AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), and Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) have agreed to take part in negotiations that the U.S. government plans to conduct to set prices for Medicare Part D drugs.
However, all four drugmakers have sued the U.S. government, challenging the program that permits the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to bargain for Medicare drugs for the first time in history.
Merck (MRK) Januvia, AstraZeneca's (AZN) Farxiga, and Bristol Myers (BMY) Eliquis were part of the first ten drugs that Medicare selected for the initial round of pricing negotiations.
Meanwhile, German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, whose diabetes drug Jardiance, developed with Eli Lilly (LLY), was selected for the program, has also opted for talks.
The negotiations with drug manufacturers will start this fall before the agency announces the initial offers of a maximum fair price before February next year. The revised prices will take effect in 2026.
Other drugmakers targeted for pricing talks have until October 1 to agree with the CMS to participate in the process.
If not, they will have to pay an excise tax of up to 95% of their medicationâs U.S. sales or pull out from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

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