NIH says it won't use 'march-in authority' to cut price of drug

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Tuesday rejected a petition urging the government to lower the price of the prostate cancer drug Xtandi (enzalutamide) by using the so-called march-in rights to take control of the patents on the treatment that is marketed by Japan’s Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) and US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

The revelation came with a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) on their efforts to pursue a whole-of-government approach to review its march-in authority as laid out in the Bayh-Dole Act, which promotes commercialization of research results, maximizes the potential for federally-funded technologies to become products, and serves the broader interest of the American public. The Interagency Working Group for Bayh-Dole will develop a framework for implementation of the march-in provision that clearly articulates guiding criteria and processes for making determinations where different factors, including price, may be a consideration in agencies’ assessments.

Benefits of march-in authority