Potential Penalties Force BMS to Sign Drug Price Negotiation Agreement With CMS

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has struck an agreement with CMS to negotiate the price of its blood thinner medication Eliquis (apixaban) ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline, the drugmaker confirmed to FDAnews Wednesday.

“We have no choice other than to sign the ‘agreement,’” a BMS spokesperson said, noting that if the company did not sign, “we’d be required to pay impossibly high penalties unless we withdraw all of our medicines from Medicare and Medicaid.”

“That is not a real choice,” the company added.

It has also been reported that Boehringer Ingelheim has agreed to negotiate with CMS over diabetes and heart failure drug Jardiance (empagliflozin), while AstraZeneca has signed an agreement with CMS over negotiations for Farxiga (dapagliflozin), a treatment for diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease.

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