SCRIPT Act
SCRIPT Act Part VIII, Prescription Drug Pricing Transparency
North Carolina’s SCRIPT Act, (S.L. 2025-69), signed into law by Governor Stein on July 9, 2025, relates to regulation of the pharmacy benefit manager industry and prescription drug pricing transparency.
NCDHHS is responsible for the implementation of components of Part VIII of the law, which requires drug manufacturers to notify interested parties about certain price increases and the price of newly introduced prescription drugs. The law directs NCDHHS to collect data from manufacturers and provide information to the public to provide transparency and accountability for prescription drug pricing.
Summary of Disclosure of Price Increases
By Jan. 31 of each year, a manufacturer shall notify all interested parties of each increase in price of 15% or greater that occurred in the prior calendar year for a prescription drug with a price of one hundred dollars $100 or more for a 30-day supply.
The manufacturer shall disclose all of the following to interested parties for each drug price increase noticed for the prior calendar year under this subsection:
- The date and price of acquisition of the drug, if it was not developed by the manufacturer
- A schedule of price increases for the drug for the five years prior to the calendar year.
Summary of Disclosure of Prices for New Products
A manufacturer shall notify all interested parties of the price of any new prescription drug within three days after it is made available for purchase in this State. Within 30 days after the notification required by this subsection, the manufacturer shall disclose to interested parties the date and price of acquisition of the drug if it was not developed by the manufacturer.
Definition of Interested Parties
The law defines interested parties as:
- State agencies that (i) purchase prescription drugs or (ii) employ prescribers
- Health insurance companies
- Health care service plan providers
- Pharmacy benefit managers
NCDHHS does not provide the notification to interested parties; it is the responsibility of manufacturers.
Instructions for Manufacturer Reporting to the NCDHHS
SCRIPT Act Part VIII requires NCDHHS to collect data from drug manufacturers to provide transparency and accountability for prescription drug pricing. NCDHHS will provide data analysis and reports to the NC General Assembly and to the public.
Submission Portal
Drug pricing information can be submitted using the NCDHHS SCRIPT Act Submission Portal. Follow the instructions below based on type of reporting.
Reporting Drug Price Increases
Manufacturers are required to report price increases of 15% or greater for a prescription drug product with a wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of $100.00 or more for a 30-day supply.
Reporting is due by January 31 of each year for the previous calendar year. Price increases that occurred in 2025 should have been reported by January 31, 2026. Price increases that occur in 2026 and subsequent years must be reported by January 31 of the year following the price increase.
For disclosure of price increases, manufacturers at a minimum should include the following data elements:
- National Drug Code (NDC)
- Drug Name
- The date and price of acquisition of the drug, if it was not developed by the manufacturer
- A schedule of price increases for the drug for the five years prior to the calendar year
Reporting New Prescription Drug Products
Manufacturers are required to report the price of any new prescription drug product within three days after it is made available for purchase in North Carolina. For new products, the price threshold for reporting is a wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more for a 30-day supply, to be consistent with the reporting threshold that is required by the statute for price increases for existing products.
Reporting is a two-step process, triggered once per product (per NDC) when it first becomes available for purchase in North Carolina:
- Initial notice (within 3 days): Notify interested parties of the price of the new prescription drug.
- Follow-up (within 30 days): If the drug was acquired (i.e. not developed by the manufacturer), disclose the NDC, drug name, date and price of the acquisition.
NCDHHS will accept new product submissions through the NCDHH SCRIPT Act Submission Portal on a rolling basis.
For disclosure of prices for new products, manufacturers at a minimum should include the following data elements:
- National Drug Code (NDC)
- Drug Name
- The date and price of acquisition of the drug, if it was not developed by the manufacturer
SCRIPT Act Part VIII News
SCRIPT Act Part VIII FAQs
Price Increases: Manufacturers are required to submit information about specified price increases from the previous calendar year by January 31 of the following year. Specified price increases include: A price increase of at least 15% for a prescription drug product with a wholesale acquisition cost of $100 or more for a 30-day supply.
New Products: Manufacturers are required to submit information about any new prescription drug product within 30 days of it being available for purchase in the state. For new products, the price threshold for reporting is $100 or more for a 30-day supply – consistent with the statute’s threshold for existing products.
Price Increases: the law specifies a deadline of January 31 for submission of data pertaining to price increases made in the previous calendar year.
New Products: reporting is a two step process, triggered once per product (per NDC) when it first becomes available for purchase in North Carolina:
- Initial notice (within 3 days): Notify interested parties of the price of the new prescription drug.
- Follow up (within 30 days): If the drug was acquired (i.e., not developed by the manufacturer), disclose the NDC, drug name, date and price of acquisition using the NCDHHS SCRIPT Act Submission Portal.
- New product submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis in order to allow for disclosure within 30 days of the product being made available for purchase in the state.
Under the law, the NCDHHS Secretary is required to assess civil penalties not to exceed $1,000 per day for each day the manufacturer delays submission of information.
NCDHHS is working on the publication process and will provide updates on this webpage.All manufacturer submissions will be made available on the NCDHHS website. Since submission of a Form 10-K or any other public disclosure fulfills manufacturer obligations under the law, if submitted, those documents which will be posted are already in the public domain.
Information provided to the Secretary or an interested party under Article 4D shall be considered trade secret under Article 24 of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes, confidential, exempt from public inspection and copying under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, and shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly unless the information is already in the public domain. Additionally, manufacturer obligations under Article 4D are satisfied by submission of a SEC Form 10-K, which is already publicly available under the SEC’s EDGAR Database.
NCDHHS is working on a template for manufacturers to use and will provide updates on this webpage. For now, manufacturers should use a format of their choice and upload the files to the NCDHHS SCRIPT Act Submission Portal. If additional information is needed, someone will follow-up with the point of contact indicated in the submission.
- For disclosure of price increases, manufacturers at a minimum should include the following data elements:
- National Drug Code (NDC)
- Drug Name
- The date and price of acquisition of the drug, if it was not developed by the manufacturer
- A schedule of price increases for the drug for the five years prior to the calendar year
- For disclosure of prices for new products, manufacturers at a minimum should include the following data elements:
- National Drug Code (NDC)
- Drug Name
- The date and price of acquisition of the drug, if it was not developed by the manufacturer
No. Supplemental filings are only subject to reporting if the supplement results in a new NDC and WAC.
Inner pack NDCs are not required to be reported under the SCRIPT Act. Reporting focuses on the drug (NDC) tied to price, availability, and acquisition.
No. A labeler code change alone does not require a new product notice. If the change is accompanied by a price increase that meets the 15% threshold (and WAC ≥ $100/30day), the price increase reporting requirement may be triggered.
Use the WAC at the highest recommended dosage for a full 30 day treatment duration when determining if the $100 threshold applies and when assessing whether a 15% price increase occurred. Document dosing assumptions used.
No. Annual reporting is required only when trigger events occur (i.e., each price increase ≥ 15% for drugs with WAC ≥ $100/30 day). If no such increases occurred—and no new products meeting the threshold were introduced—no filing is necessary.
For all other questions, please contact SCRIPT.Act@dhhs.nc.gov.