Discussion (1L): Pharmaceutical Pricing and Access

Catalog description

Policymakers across the ideological spectrum describe the U.S. drug pricing system as "broken." But it is less clear how and why the system is broken, or what to do about it. Is the problem that patents delay competition? That Medicare pays the wrong way? That intermediaries distort the market? That fragile supply chains leave patients without needed medicines? That the system rewards the wrong innovations? In this discussion seminar, we will map the basic legal and policy architecture of pharmaceutical pricing and access in the United States and beyond. We will consider four sets of reform proposals: efforts to rein in drug patents, to let the government set prices or rely on prices from other markets, to address the middlemen and supply-chain failures in U.S. markets, and to expand access to medicines abroad. Our aim is to learn how lawyers and policymakers analyze the complex institutional tradeoffs these proposals present. Elements used in grading: Full attendance, reading of assigned materials, and active participation. Class meets: 6:00 PM-8:00 PM on Sept. 22, Oct. 6, Oct. 27, Nov 10.