Hillary Clinton releases plan on drug prices

Hillary Clinton released a drug price control plan Friday that echoes measures she championed in the early 1990s, such as creation of a government body to assess and respond to drug prices. Clinton also said that if elected she will expand FDA's mission to include responding to "unjustified price hikes." The plan targets "long-available" drugs. Although it specifically mentions the EpiPen from Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ:MYL), the Clinton plan could be applied to a wide range of drugs with substantial price increases, such as insulins and therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) and arthritis.

Clinton said she would "convene representatives of Federal agencies charged with ensuring health and safety, as well as fair competition, to create a dedicated group charged with protecting consumers from outlier price increases." According to Clinton's plan, the proposed panel would determine whether a price increase is unjustified based on factors that include the "the trajectory of the price increase, the cost of production, and the relative value to patients, among other factors that pose a threat to public health." ...