Health Law and Access to Medicines Seminar

3 units

Drop deadline: 11:59 p.m. on the day after the first class meeting. This seminar explores the frameworks within health law and policy that relate to access to investigational and prescription drugs. The seminar will focus on a number of foundational topics within health law, including the United States’ fragmented structure of Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance and how insurance relates to prescription drug affordability; the distribution of authority between legislators and regulators at the state and federal level as they make new law in this area; and how drug candidates are evaluated and, in the case of successful candidates, approved by federal regulators. The seminar will also apply these frameworks to a number of current issues in the area, including but not limited to drug pricing reform, expedited approval pathways, and the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on drug and vaccine development. Students will be expected to research and write a paper on a topic approved by the faculty. Students will receive faculty feedback on an initial draft to assist them in completing their papers. Students will also do short presentations on their papers toward the end of the semester.