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AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) plans to cap out-of-pocket costs for its inhaler medications at $35 per month following Congressional criticism of the company's pricing of the products in the US.
The cap, which will take effect June 1, would apply to uninsured and underinsured patients. Drugs covered by the cap include Airsupra, which contains albuterol and budesonide; Bevespi Aerosphere; Breztri Aerosphere; and Symbicort.
The cap would not apply to co-pays for people enrolled in federal government insurance programs, AstraZeneca said.
AstraZeneca also noted that it had "substantially" reduced the list price for Symbicort on Jan. 1.
The move comes in the wake of a letter sent by Congressional leaders in January advising AstraZeneca that they were launching an investigation into the pricing of inhaler medications for asthma and COPD. The letter noted that Breztri Aerosphere costs $645 in the US but only $49 in the UK, according to Reuters.
Boehringer Ingelheim said earlier this month it would cap out-of-pocket costs for its inhaler products for asthma and COPD at $35 per month, starting June 1. The company had been similarly called out by lawmakers over the pricing of its drug Combivent Respimat, which they said cost $489 in the US but only $7 in France, Reuters added.
In early March, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren
accused GSK (GSK) of price gouging over the marketing of its pediatric asthma drug Flovent HFA and an authorized generic.In 2023, Sanofi (SNY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) said they would cap out-of-pocket costs for their insulin products at $35 per month. Novo Nordisk (NVO) likewise agreed to slash prices on several of its insulin products by up to 75%.
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