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WASHINGTON — A groundbreaking clause in a new deal between the Department of Health and Human Services and the pharmaceutical company Regeneron marks the first time the Biden administration has directly used its leverage to challenge drugmakers’ list prices, experts told STAT.

The contract between Regeneron and the government requires that the list price for a future monoclonal antibody drug to prevent Covid-19 is the same or lower in the United States as in other high-income countries. The release doesn’t explain which countries the government will be comparing prices with, or how pricing data will be determined.

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The deal was part of the White House’s Project NextGen initiative, which includes $5 billion in new vaccines and therapies. HHS announced that it is spending $326 million to help Regeneron develop a new monoclonal antibody to prevent Covid-19. Regeneron in January announced plans to start testing a potentially variant-proof antibody, which is set to go into clinical trials later this year.

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