A moderate Dem with an aggressive pricing plan

It’s not just Nancy Pelosi with a shiny new drug pricing plan. Pete Buttigieg — the mayor of South Bend, Ind., and one of the most moderate Democrats contending for the 2020 presidency — is unveiling a pricing plan of his own this morning. And it’s pretty radical, STAT’s Nicholas Florko and Lev Facher write.

For example, it would force drug makers to forfeit as much as 95% of a drug’s revenue if the company won’t negotiate on price. The “worst offender” companies might also be required to turn in their patent rights.

Although Buttigieg’s plan does have much in common with Pelosi’s, there’s one aspect that is particularly unique: It includes the concept of “march-in rights,” in which the government could approve generic drugs even when a branded drug maker still carries a patent.