July 27, 2026
Pharmacy costs have an outsized impact on overall healthcare spend for employers. But much happens before a drug’s price is set. It is important to understand how the complex and lengthy drug development process really works and where there are opportunities to adapt the policy, regulatory, scientific and market forces that influence the lifecycle of a drug - and the costs.
In this podcast we sit down with Rachel Sachs, Professor of Law, Washington University, St. Louis School of Law. Professor Sachs is one of the nation’s leading experts on drug pricing, policy, and innovation and she shares the drug development process in a clear, accessible way to explain how the costs that patients and purchasers pay are ultimately determined - and why they may be different depending on who is paying.
She also discusses the patent process including what they cover, why drugs often have multiple patents, what that means for exclusivity and future competition, skinny labeling and more. We also dig into the R&D process, FDA approval standards, the gap between approval and launch, coverage negotiations, the importance of biosimilars, and more.
Tune in for a clearer understanding of why so many of today’s headlines about prescription costs trace back to the drug development process and how it influences labeling, launch timing, pricing and the patient access decisions that matter most.
SPEAKERS
Rachel Sachs | Professor of Law, Washington University, St. Louis School of Law
Ellen Kelsay | President and CEO, Business Group on Health
Duration 34 min
