Novartis CEO supports US govt plans to end to drug rebates

Earlier this month, US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Inspector General Daniel Levinson proposed a rule to lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by encouraging manufacturers to pass discounts directly on to patients.

The proposal has attracted a range of reactions, some in favor and others against.  The latest to address the controversy over high drug prices is Novartis (NOVN: VX) chief executive Vas Narasimhan who told Reuters in an interview that he blames middlemen and says he backs a government proposal to end rebate payments to get products covered.

Dr Narasimhan says Novartis' prices have been "flat to negative" for three years and “we pay almost 50% of our gross revenues in the United States into rebates... If you return those rebates to patients, so patients pay less out of pocket, I think that is something that makes a lot of sense and will correct a distortion in the marketplace.”