Inma Hernandez, PharmD, PhD, Senior Advisor for Drug Prices at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, joins Perspectives to give an overview of drug pricing regulatory dynamics for branded drugs in the US. The episode is a step-by-step walkthrough of the different prices a branded drug can have in the U.S. and how those prices are established across commercial insurance, Medicaid, Medicare Part B, and Medicare Part D. Inma explains the alphabet soup of WAC, AMP, best price, ASP, and MFP; how rebates and statutory discounts translate list prices into the net prices realized by innovators; and how pricing decisions in one market can spill over into others. The episode then layers in 340B and the drug pricing provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act. Consider this a U.S. Branded Drug Pricing 101 taught by a nationally recognized expert in pharmaceutical pricing and policy with a graphical representation linked below that is worth printing for your desk.

Topics discussed include:

Graphical Representation Created by Dr. Hernandez: Microsoft PowerPoint - Keynote_OPENING_Inma_ISPOR 2026

Rob Abbott, CEO of ISPOR, joins Perspectives to talk about why health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) has become more relevant for biotech founders, executives, and investors. The conversation challenges the common perception that HEOR is primarily a post-approval exercise used to support pricing and reimbursement. Instead, Rob discusses how evidence generation, economic modeling, and value strategy can shape clinical development, inform investment decisions, and strengthen the commercial potential of new therapies. The episode concludes with a discussion of ISPOR's Healthcare Investment Summit that will be held in September 2026 and will convene investors, drug developers, and value strategists to translate HEOR into early-stage investment decisions and drug development.

Topics discussed include:

Show links:  https://www.ispor.org/conferences-education/conferences/upcoming-conferences/ispor-healthcare-investment-summit-2026

Ron Lanton, the Founder and President of Lanton Strategies International, joins Perspectives by the Leerink Center for Pharmacoeconomics to discuss the use of trade mechanisms to address pharmaceutical pricing. Ron provides insight into the growing intersection of pharmaceutical pricing and international trade policy, why recent developments could be significant, and what it could mean for biopharmaceutical companies, investors, and patients.

Topics discussed include:

Dr. Tomas Philipson, former Acting Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, joins Perspectives by the Leerink Center for Pharmacoeconomics to discuss a new insurance model he developed that insures biotech investments against clinical trial failure. He explains how this insurance could reshape the way risk is managed in life sciences innovation and could expand access to capital for biotech. The second half of the episode turns to drug pricing policy where Philipson shares his perspectives on current and proposed reforms.

Topics discussed include:

Episode Links:

https://www.mciuw.com/service/clinical-trial-funding-insurance/

In this episode of Perspectives by the Leerink Center for Pharmacoeconomics, host Mel Whittington sits down with renowned health economist Dr. Peter Neumann following the annual meeting of the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health (CEVR) at Tufts Medical Center. Drawing from conversations that took place at the meeting, Mel and Peter explore some of the questions that are shaping how innovation is valued globally.

The discussion covers:

This episode offers a window into the economic debates influencing how medicines are evaluated, reimbursed, and ultimately brought to patients. 

CEVR webpage : https://cevr.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/

US vs. MFN CEA thresholds paper: https://academic.oup.com/healthaffairsscholar/article/4/4/qxag081/8586328

Cost-effective price vs. Medicare negotiated price paper:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40939703/