Drug Pricing Debate Surfaces At NIH Nominee's Confirmation Hearing

The continuing debate as to where to draw the line between encouraging innovation and lowering drug costs was front and center during a Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing for NIH director nominee Monica Bertagnolli. For decades, NIH has funded and supported research and innovation that has been critical for the development of many pharmaceutical products and other therapies. But, as drug costs have continued to increase, certain policymakers, including HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders, have argued that NIH should aggressively use reasonable pricing contract clauses or march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act in order to undermine patents to lower drug prices for products that were developed with NIH's assistance.