NIH Issues First Policy For Equitable Medicine Access, Price-Control Groups Call It ‘Narrow’

The National Institutes of Health has issued a first-ever policy proposal to use its licensing process to achieve equitable and affordable access to drugs, vaccines, devices and treatments developed from NIH-owned inventions. The move comes as Senate health committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and drug price control groups push to expand HHS’ best-price provisions in Project NextGen pharmaceutical contracts to NIH-developed drugs. But the price control groups describe the newly unveiled NIH proposal as “narrow,” as it would only apply...