FDA willing to trade faster drug reviews for lower prices, Bloomberg reports

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency may fast-track new drugs from pharmaceutical companies that “equalize” the cost of their medicines between the U.S. and other countries, Bloomberg’s Rachel Cohrs Zhang and Sam Hornblower report. Makary said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week with David Westin that companies that promise to equalize prices can receive a “national priority review voucher,” which would cut review times to one to two months. The vouchers are part of a new program announced by the FDA, and Makary said they could be used to incentivize companies to lower drug prices in the U.S. to match those in other countries. Publicly traded companies in the space include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).