US Congressional Budget Office lifts orphan drug cost estimate to $8.8 billion

(Reuters) -The U.S. Congressional Budget Office said on Monday that exemptions for certain orphan drugs under this year’s reconciliation law will cost the government $8.8 billion over the next decade, nearly double its earlier estimate, after expanding its analysis to include high-spending cancer medicines such as Keytruda, Opdivo and Darzalex.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Sneha S K; Editing by Maju Samuel)