'Most-Favored Nation' Drug Pricing: Impacts on the Pharmacy Supply Chain

In an article for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s (NABP) Innovations publication, health care senior manager Chase Heltzel and Faegre Drinker Consulting principal Tricia Beckmann discuss an executive order (EO) from the Trump administration that aims to tie American drug prices to those paid in foreign markets by requiring the government to communicate “most-favored-nation” (MFN) drug price targets to manufacturers.

Heltzel and Beckmann provide an overview of the policy directive, stating that although the order seeks to lower drug prices in the United States, the implications for manufacturers, pharmacies, pharmacy benefits managers and the pharmacy-drug supply chain could be far-reaching.

“A significant omission in the EO is a deadline for HHS to determine if manufacturers have failed to meet the price targets before regulatory action is taken to enforce MFN implementation. As a result, it may take months or years to see any follow-up action by the agencies, pursuant to the EO's directives,” the authors conclude.