The manager executives of 3 main pharmaceutical corporations are set to look in entrance of the Senate well being committee on Thursday to protect how a lot they price for medication in america, drawing them additional right into a war of words with lawmakers and the Biden management over the price of one of the vital most generally used prescription drugs.

The 3 executives scheduled to testify — Joaquin Duato of Johnson & Johnson, Robert M. Davis of Merck and Christopher Boerner of Bristol Myers Squibb — are anticipated to conflict with the well being committee’s chairman, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an unbiased who has made reining in drug costs a signature purpose of his late-career years in Congress.

Mr. Sanders plans to focal point the listening to on why drug costs are upper in america than in different rich nations. His body of workers has singled out a number of broadly used medication, together with Eliquis, a blood thinner made by means of Bristol Myers Squibb, and Januvia, a diabetes drug from Merck, that may be purchased for far much less in Canada and Europe than in america.

The listening to comes as a brand new federal program authorizing Medicare to barter the costs of a few expensive drugs is getting underway. Federal well being officers final week made their preliminary provides to the makers of the primary 10 medication decided on for negotiations, a listing that incorporates Eliquis and Januvia.

5 of the ten medication picked for worth talks are made by means of the corporations whose executives will probably be attesting on Thursday. Drug makers, together with all 3 corporations that will probably be represented on the listening to, have filed a flurry of complaints arguing that the negotiation program is unconstitutional.

Mr. Sanders has accused pharmaceutical executives of unduly benefiting from fashionable drugs on the expense of American citizens suffering to pay for prescriptions. He has urged that the corporations use the medication to complement their most sensible executives and stockholders.

Two of the pharmaceutical executives, Mr. Duato of Johnson & Johnson and Mr. Davis of Merck, agreed to testify after being threatened with subpoenas. Mr. Sanders had deliberate to carry a committee vote final week on whether or not to factor them, however the executives agreed to look on the listening to sooner than this type of vote used to be taken. The 2 corporations urged final month that Mr. Sanders used to be in the hunt for to retaliate for the complaints that they had filed difficult the Medicare worth negotiation program.

Costs for brand-name medication in america in 2022 had been no less than thrice as top as the ones in 33 different rich nations, a up to date document funded by means of the Division of Well being and Human Services and products discovered, even if allowing for reductions that may cut back how a lot American well being plans and employers pay.

Evaluating drug costs in america with the ones in different nations can also be tough for the reason that well being care techniques are so other. In america, negotiations over drug costs are fragmented throughout tens of 1000’s of well being plans and employers, whilst Ecu nations depend on a centralized negotiator. And whilst many prescribed drugs can also be purchased for far much less at Ecu pharmacies, Ecu nations don’t essentially be offering extensive insurance policy for the ones medication for his or her voters.

Sarah Ryan, a spokeswoman for the Pharmaceutical Analysis and Producers of The usa, or PhRMA, the drug business’s primary lobbying team, stated in a remark that new drugs arrived sooner in america than in another nation. She blamed middlemen referred to as pharmacy get advantages managers for prime out-of-pocket prices for American citizens.

The 3 executives set to testify on Thursday are the most recent to look sooner than Mr. Sanders since he become the well being committee’s chairman early final 12 months. In March, Moderna’s leader govt testified about the cost of his corporate’s Covid-19 vaccine, and the executive executives of 3 main insulin producers — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi — seemed in entrance of the committee at a listening to in Would possibly.

Michelle Mello, a well being coverage skilled at Stanford Regulation Faculty, stated that lawmakers may use the listening to to construct momentum round additional legislative motion on drug pricing, corresponding to increasing the Medicare worth negotiation program to surround extra medication.

“We might be doing so a lot more with this device,” she stated.