Drug Firms Buy Pricey Vouchers to Speed Products to Market
There are a limited number of vouchers that pharma companies are buying at high prices to speed products to market. The FDA is required to issue “priority review vouchers” to developers of drugs for rare conditions or diseases to encourage research in underfunded areas. Companies receive a voucher when the FDA approves their drug for sale, and can redeem them to shorten the FDA’s decision deadline from 10 months to six months for any subsequent drug.
Companies can also sell the vouchers. For example, AbbVie paid $350M for a voucher, $105M higher than the previous sale, and five times the first.
