Regeneron Pharmaceuticals CEO Leonard Schleifer is confident he can bargain with pharmacy benefit managers to lower the cost of its sundry than $14,000-per-year cholesterol drug for patients.
Earlier this month, he state the company is willing to lower the price. However, he said he wants to thrust the payers to make access straightforward for the patients who need it.
When asked Wednesday if he is now impressive any deals, Schleifer said, “We’re working hard at that and I’m optimistic on how that’s effective to work out.”
Recent results from a highly anticipated long-term clinical go found that the cholesterol drug Praluent significantly reduced bigger adverse heart events by 24 percent. It also led to fewer obliterations among high-risk patients.
The study included nearly 19,000 patients who were force ined with the drug or a placebo every two weeks. Some patients lashed to a higher dose if LDL cholesterol levels remained at certain levels.
To whatever manner, when it comes to the industry’s drug pricing, there are larger “structural issues” that entertain to be dealt with, Schleifer said on “Power Lunch” from the CNBC Thriving Returns conference.
While drug companies have to do their participate in by coming up with fair prices, they also need inducements, he contended.
In fact, the U.S. Constitution grants the rights for companies to get patents.
“Our set fathers said we’re going to let you benefit from your inventions. If we experience away that incentive, we’re just going to be like Russia,” Schleifer told. “We’re not going to develop any drugs. We need to be able to have that inducement.”
— CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace contributed to this report.