IRA diverting early-stage investment from Medicare, small molecules
Steep cuts in Phase I, II clinical trial starts signal impending dearth of drugs, industry-funded analysis concludes
The Inflation Reduction Act is reshaping the biomedical landscape in ways that will harm American patients, especially the Medicare population, according to a new analysis of early-stage VC investments and clinical trial starts. Researchers found evidence that the biopharma industry has slashed investments in new drugs to treat conditions that primarily affect the elderly, and has shifted resources away from small molecules and toward more expensive biologics.
The analysis, published Wednesday as a preprint, found a sharp decline in clinical trial launches for the Medicare-aged population and an even larger decrease in funding for early-stage studies of small molecules since enactment of IRA. It attributes the declines to the Medicare drug price negotiation program and warns that they will cause a reduction in development of new medicines. ...