AstraZeneca proposes U.S. drug price cuts to Trump

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President Donald Trump has been pressuring pharmaceutical corporations to lower U.S. drug costs, and it might be beginning to work – no less than on AstraZeneca. 

AstraZeneca has proposed price cuts to certain drugs within the U.S., its CEO Pascal Soriot told reporters on Tuesday, after the corporate’s second-quarter revenue and earnings topped estimates. 

“We’ve made proposals of what we as an organization consider might be done, which might actually entail rebalancing pricing with a discount within the U.S.,” Soriot said, while also noting that pricing dynamics within the country are “very complicated” and lack transparency. 

He said the Trump administration is reviewing the corporate’s proposals, but didn’t specify which treatments it included. AstraZeneca appears to be among the many first drugmakers to disclose that it has floated price cuts to the Trump administration. 

“I do consider a rebalancing of pricing world wide is needed. The U.S. can now not pay for the R&D of the world,” Pascal said. 

“We definitely support the concept of rebalancing with some reduction of pricing levels within the U.S., and a few increase, we’re not talking about massive increases, in Europe,” he continued. 

The corporate previously set a goal of achieving $80 billion in sales by the tip of the last decade, with 50% of that, or roughly $40 billion, slated to come back from the U.S.

Why now?

Soriot’s comments come two months after Trump signed a sweeping executive order that goals to renew a plan to lower U.S. drug costs by linking prices to significantly lower ones in other developed countries. Trump has described the trouble – called the “most favored nation” policy – as “equalizing” prices.

We can also’t forget the president’s planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S., which could occur any day now and have sprawling consequences for drugmakers and patients. The levies aim to spice up domestic drug manufacturing, even after AstraZeneca and other corporations have announced billions of dollars in recent U.S. investments in recent months. 

AstraZeneca last week said it plans to take a position $50 billion in bolstering its U.S. manufacturing and research capabilities by 2030, which incorporates recent sites and expansions of previous investments. 

Also on Tuesday, Soriot said he expects all of AstraZeneca’s medicines for U.S. patients to be produced locally inside a number of months. 

He added that the corporate is considering selling some drugs to patients directly – a move that corporations like Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb have adopted as patients struggle to afford drugs within the U.S. 

“We would like to behave within the U.S. as a U.S. company,” Soriot said. 

But he added that the U.K.-based AstraZeneca is “committed” to its home country, which comes amid reports that the corporate is considering shifting its listing stateside.

Pascal declined to comment on the rumors on the corporate’s second-quarter earnings call.

Be happy to send any suggestions, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.

Doximity announced a brand new tool last week called Doximity Scribe, a free artificial intelligence-powered documentation solution that goals to assist clinicians reduce the time they spend on paperwork. 

The corporate is the most recent to dive into the fiercely competitive AI scribing market, which has taken off as health-care executives search for tactics to cut back staff burnout and daunting administrative workloads. 

Like other tools in the marketplace, Doximity Scribe uses AI to draft clinical notes in real time as doctors record their visits with patient permission. But by offering the tool totally free, Doximity is taking a unique approach than its competitors like Microsoft, Abridge and others. 

“Comparable scribe services can cost a whole lot of dollars per user monthly,” Doximity said in a release. “We consider powerful tools like this ought to be accessible to all clinicians, not only those with the budgets.”

Doximity is a digital platform for medical professionals that helps clinicians stay current on medical news, manage paperwork, find referrals and perform telehealth appointments with patients. The corporate primarily generates revenue through its hiring solutions and marketing offerings for clients equivalent to pharmaceutical corporations.

Along with Doximity Scribe, the corporate also offers clinicians an AI tool called Doximity GPT and a video and telehealth platform called Doximity Dialer totally free. In other words, it’s followed this playbook before.  

But while the free offering will likely entice many clinicians, it might not turn the market on its head just yet. 

Several other players within the space, including each Microsoft and Abridge, can support deep integrations with electronic health record vendors, while Doximity Scribe is starting with a beta integration with its own product, Doximity Dialer. Similarly, Doximity users can make a choice from structured templates or freeform notes, but other vendors offer support specific to a provider’s specialty, in addition to additional features for coding and billing.

In consequence, large, complex health systems will likely still be willing to pay for AI scribes, no less than for now. 

Doximity said it is going to roll out its scribe in the approaching months, and clinicians can join for early access. 

Read the total announcement here.

Be happy to send any suggestions, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.