Bernie Sanders lifts hold on NIH nominee following Regeneron price concessions

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the health committee, said late Friday that he would lift his hold on President Biden’s nominee to run the National Institutes of Health and set up a hearing next month to move the nomination forward.

Biden in May nominated Monica Bertagnolli, who’s currently leading the National Cancer Institute, to be head of the NIH, but Sanders has held up her nomination as he sought further drug pricing-related concessions from the Biden administration.

Monica Bertagnolli

What broke the Bernie dam? On Friday, the Biden administration announced a new $326 million contract with Regeneron for the NY-based company to develop more monoclonal antibodies targeted at Covid-19. Regeneron’s previous blockbuster monoclonal antibody neutralized earlier variants before it was pulled from the market with the rise of Omicron.

But this latest agreement also included a first for HHS.

“This agreement included a clause where Regeneron committed that if a new product is commercialized, its list price in the United States will be equal to or less than its retail price in comparable markets globally,” HHS said in a statement. “Inclusion of this clause is the result of HHS’s and Regeneron’s shared interest in ensuring enduring and equitable access to therapeutics developed under public-private partnerships for all Americans.”

And that price-related concession had a positive ripple effect, as Sanders announced Friday:

In light of the recent actions taken by HHS and a commitment I received from the White House to keep working to lower the price of prescription drugs, the HELP Committee will be holding a hearing on the nomination of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to be the Director of the National Institutes of Health in October.

While NIH doesn’t typically deal with drug prices (the institutes have repeatedly rejected march-in petitions), Sanders is insisting on holding Bertagnolli responsible for taking action.

“I look forward to meeting with Dr. Bertagnolli to discuss what she is prepared to do at the NIH to substantially lower the outrageous price of prescription drugs in America,” Sanders said in a statement. “The NIH has done excellent work to research and develop new prescription drugs and treatments that have improved the lives of the American people and people throughout the world.”

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