The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) Program. The idea is to have a fast-track review – as short as one to two months compared to 10 to 12 on the usual timeline – for drugs that address one or more national priorities, such as pandemic preparedness, domestic manufacturing, national security, or serious unmet medical needs.
But Friday – why is it always on a Friday? – FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced the agency would choose to fast-track those drugs that promise to match the low price in other countries.
Let’s be clear. This notion of equalizing prices with other countries is at the heart of the president’s misbegotten Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing initiative, so this is simply abusing the FDA approval process to implement MFN. Effectively, the FDA is saying: “Promise the low price, or you will be at the very back of a long line of desired drug approvals.” There is nothing benign or meritorious about it. Indeed, it is variant of the Biden Administration’s deception of dressing up price controls in the guise of a “negotiated” price.
Source: American Action Forum
I years past, the FDA would not interfere with pricing policies. It’s really quite rare. Price was never an issue (probably because many FDA officials hope to retire from government service, collect their pension and work for industry).