BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics, Policy & Law

Executive order creates scramble to get pill penalty fix in reconciliation

Trump wants to eliminate the pill penalty — but he isn’t saying how. That presents challenges for industry

April 17, 2025 10:53 PM UTC

Biopharma lobbyists, who suffered an epic defeat when the Medicare drug price negotiation provisions were included in the Inflation Reduction Act, celebrated President Donald Trump’s call this week to modify the IRA by creating a level playing field for small molecules and biologics.

While the April 15 executive order on drug pricing was good news for advocates of fixing the “pill penalty,” it is far from a done deal. Obtaining nearly unanimous support among Republicans in Congress and ensuring that extending the negotiation timeline for small molecules doesn’t come at the expense of biologics, will be challenging. ...

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