Last autumn, CHOICE Institute PhD student Dr. Emma Cousin (PharmD, ‘22) – alongside pharmacy faculty members Dr. Sean Sullivan, professor of pharmacy and Dr. Ryan Hansen, pharmacy department chair – published an article in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy, titled: “Drugs Anticipated to be Selected for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program in 2025.”
The study was completed in collaboration with Dr. Inma Hernandez and her research team at the University of California, San Diego. Authors of the study identified high-spending Part D products likely to be included in the second round of negotiations in the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
In January, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their list of 15 Part D drugs to be negotiated in the next round of drug price talks. “Back in September, we published our predictions of 13 drugs and identified 7 drugs with uncertain negotiation status to complete the list of 15. We correctly predicted 13 of the 15,” Cousin explained. “All 15 of the drugs are small molecules, 10 of the 15 have multiple indications and only semaglutide has multiple brands (Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy)… We missed Otezla and Vraylar, which presumably have had recent increases in utilization since 2022.”