The pharmaceutical industry is criticizing the Trump administration’s plan for carrying out a critical round of Biden-era drug price negotiations that doubles down on actions they’ve resisted since the program began.
The pushback was revealed in comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ draft guidance for the third cycle of the drug price negotiation program. The plan negotiates Medicare-covered drug prices with manufacturers each year, with the agency now preparing for the third round of talks slated to begin in 2026 and target 15 additional drugs.
The industry has long criticized the government’s implementation of the program, finding flaws in how medicines are picked and how the negotiated drug price is determined. The fight appears poised to continue after the latest feedback to the Trump administration’s takeover of the program raised similar complaints as those during former President Joe Biden’s implementation.
“CMS doubled down on the previous administration’s flawed approach,” the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry’s top lobbying group, said in a statement. The guidance fails to address the “real pain points” patients face in accessing their medicines and erodes incentives for developing the next generation of medicines, the group said.
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