Covid-19, Rare Diseases Frame Drug Pricing Debate in Congress

Tackling high drug prices will get a renewed focus in Congress this year as lawmakers turn their attention to boosting access to treatments for Covid-19, rare diseases, and other life-threatening conditions.

Roughly two dozen bills are floating around Congress that would alter how drugs get marketing exclusivity, require companies to report planned price hikes, and allow the government to directly negotiate prices. One bill that would modify eligibility for five years of exclusivity sailed through the Senate but awaits action in the House. The others have yet to see action.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last month that Democrats ...