President Donald Trump‘s pharmaceutical pricing agreements with 26 drugmakers could face fresh congressional scrutiny as Democrats take control of Congress, potentially bringing greater attention to deals whose details remain largely undisclosed.
The administration’s “most-favored-nation” policy ties U.S. drug prices to lower prices abroad. But the lack of transparency could give Democrats an opening to question how the arrangements work and what they mean for American drug prices.
“The details mostly remain confidential,” Chris Gannatti, CIO of WisdomTree, told Benzinga in an exclusive interview via email. With Trump’s veto power limiting the scope for new legislation, Gannatti expects Democrats to lean on hearings, investigations and funding negotiations to exert pressure.
The scrutiny comes as lawmakers also confront Medicare‘s drug-price negotiation program. Fifteen drugs in the program account for about $27 billion in Medicare spending, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must announce their negotiated prices by Nov. 30, Gannatti said.
For drugmakers, the two fights create separate sources of uncertainty: direct pressure on selected drug prices and questions about the administration’s broader pricing agreements. Investors will be watching whether congressional scrutiny forces greater transparency or eventually leads to changes in how companies price medicines in the U.S.
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