Marylanders could see some drug costs go down due to a new federal policy that allows the government to step in when drug companies are charging too much.
The policy, which was announced Thursday, gives the government the authority to take over patents for drugs developed with government spending if companies set the price too high.
“If the federal government pays for the research, we got to be more involved in how much you're charging and what Marylanders and Americans pay for these high-cost drugs,” said Vincent DeMarco, affordable drug advocate and president of Maryland Healthcare for All! “March in rights are a really good way to address this and we fully support this.”
The precedent for march in authority stems from a 1980 law that allows the National Institutes of Health to seize the patents of federally funded medicines.
The policy is a sharp turn from the government’s stance earlier this year. In March, the Biden administration refused to step in and lower the price of a prostate cancer treatment drug called Xtandi.
The government has never actually used the march in rights before.
Maryland is taking its own stance against high drug costs. In 2019, it created the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to set upper payment limits on some drugs being sold in the state.
“The idea behind these boards is for states to think about what a fair price would be that can increase access to these drugs for patients within the state,” said Rachel Sachs a professor of health law at Washington University in St. Louis.
The limits are a solid monetary topline that insurers in the state will not pay more than for a specific drug.
Maryland’s drug affordability board will conduct cost reviews of drugs that seem too expensive.
The board expects to make its first drug determinations next year.