The following is an excerpt from a BioSpace article in which MassBio CEO & President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell is quoted:
The newly approved spending bill also allows for a $400 million increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health, which “sends a clear signal that Congress recognizes the essential role federal research investment plays in driving discovery and, ultimately, delivering cures,” Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council said in a statement, also sent to BioSpace Tuesday evening.
“We are also encouraged to see Congress act on PBM reform and the reauthorization of the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher, which incentivizes the development of treatments for children facing the rarest and most devastating diseases,” O’Connell added.
With regard to PBM reform, the new legislation provides the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with $190 million to ensure these pharmaceutical “middlemen” comply with several new provisions, Endpoints News reported Tuesday. These include allowing CMS to define and enforce “reasonable and relevant” Medicare Part D contract terms and increasing transparency by allowing CMS to track payment trends to pharmacies and pharmacy inclusion in PBM networks.