Pharma Pulse: Big Medicine Breakups and the Tariff Scramble

Welcome to Pharma Pulse, a Pharmaceutical Commerce podcast where we bring you the latest insights shaping patient access, supply chain/logistics, data & tech, and healthcare innovation. I’m your host, and let’s get into today’s headlines.

• We begin on Capitol Hill. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley have introduced the Break Up Big Medicine Act. Drawing inspiration from the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, the bill aims to shatter vertical integration by banning parent companies from simultaneously owning insurers, PBMs, and medical providers. With just three PBMs currently managing 80% of US drug claims, the legislation mandates a one-year divestiture period—or face automatic penalties, including profit disgorgement and forced asset sales.
• Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies left out of the initial Trump pricing deals are now scrambling to secure their own agreements. Facing the threat of massive levies and new Medicare price-setting pilots, manufacturers are pursuing paths to join the ecosystem. The goal? Aligning with most-favored nation pricing benchmarks in exchange for the same tariff reprieve granted to their competitors.

That’s it for this episode of Pharma Pulse. For more insights on trends transforming pharmaceutical access and care delivery, visit pharmaceuticalcommerce.com.

Thanks for listening—until next time, stay well and stay informed.

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