Demystifying US drug pricing and structural incentives
Explore the financial flows, entities, and policies driving the US drug pricing. Using the selected case studies, we’ll demystify the "rebate trap" and structural incentives inflating patient costs. Finally, learn how recently passed regulations (CAA 2026) may transform industry transparency and responsibilities.
About Speaker
Christian Lim is a product leader and healthcare strategist with over a decade of experience driving commercial growth through the intersection of pharmacy economics, digital health, and clinical AI. Until recently, Chris was a Product Director at Optum Health, Chris specializes in navigating the complexities of specialty drug spend and chronic condition programs. He notably launched the Optum Specialty Fusion and Auth Assistant products, which integrated machine learning and automated clinical workflows to deliver $50 million in cost avoidance for a mid-Atlantic Blues plan.
His track record of success includes leading the product lifecycle for digital kidney care applications at Aetna, where he deployed claims-based ML algorithms that achieved a 105% increase in CKD detection. Chris possesses a unique edge: before moving into digital health leadership, he led process engineering teams to scale monoclonal antibody production, providing him with a deep, technical understanding of the manufacturing economics behind the high-cost biologics that dominate PBM formularies today. A certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Chris holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and dual B.S. degrees in Biomedical and Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
About Moderator
Prakash Rao is a seasoned Business Development professional with over two decades of experience in biopharma innovation. Through his rich and diverse experience within the federal government, academia, large pharma and biotech, Prakash has participated and contributed in important pillars of the bioinnovation economy. Most recently, Prakash was Sr. Director/Cell Therapy Business Development at Ginkgo Bioworks, a pioneering synthetic biology company. Prior to joining Ginkgo, Prakash led Corporate & Business Development at i2o Therapeutics and co/led financing and business development deals in the cardio metabolic space. Prakash also served as a Sr. Manager/Portfolio and Programs at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Federal government. He was a founding team member that built BARDA Ventures-a novel and govt-based equity-based financing scheme to fund therapeutic development. Additionally, as an SME, he evaluated proposals for funding antivirals during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Prakash has also led scientific teams and projects at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research. Prakash received his MBA from MIT/Sloan School of Management and his Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania.