Darius Lakdawalla

Quintiles Chair in Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation, School of Pharmacy,
Professor, Sol Price School of Public Policy,
Director of Research, Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics,
University of Southern California

For more information, contact:

  • Sally D. Woodhouse
  • Penka Kovacheva
  • Tiffany Shih

or any member of our senior staff.

Education

Darius Lakdawalla is a leading authority on health economics and health policy. He has particular expertise in pharmaceutical industry policy, medical innovation, prescription drug pricing, health insurance coverage, and reimbursement, including for private payors and Medicare Part D. Professor Lakdawalla also analyzes the industrial organization of healthcare markets.

Professor Lakdawalla has been retained as an expert witness in multiple life sciences and healthcare matters and has both deposition and trial testimony experience. He has provided economic testimony related to allegations of product liability, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, and generic drug price fixing. His expert work has addressed both liability and damages issues. Professor Lakdawalla also has extensive experience providing business consulting services to major pharmaceutical companies, as well as experience analyzing drug clinical trial data.

An award-winning researcher, Professor Lakdawalla has published articles in leading economics, medical, and health policy journals, including the American Economic ReviewHealth Affairs, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. His article “Economics of the Pharmaceutical Industry” was published in the Journal of Economic Literature. He has also coauthored chapters in the Handbook of Health EconomicsThe Oxford Handbook of the Economics of the Biopharmaceutical Industry, and The Elgar Companion to Health Economics (2nd edition), among others.

Professor Lakdawalla currently serves as an associate editor for Journal of Health Economics. He previously served as associate editor for the Review of Economics and Statistics and the American Journal of Health Economics.  He has also served as as an expert panelist for the National Academy of Medicine. Professor Lakdawalla is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

For more than a decade, Professor Lakdawalla has taught courses on health economics and policy, risk analysis, and health management. Prior to joining USC, he served as senior economist and director of research at the RAND Corporation’s Bing Center for Health Economics.

Professional Affiliations
Article

Reassessing the Value of Minimally Invasive Technologies in the Era of COVID-19

Podcast/Video

COVID-19 Implications for Pharmaceutical Litigation

  • “Inflation Reduction Act—Considering the Implications of Price Setting on Cost of Medicine,” 41st Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, 10 January 2023
  • “The Use of Evidence to Control Access and Cost of Pharmaceuticals,” American Enterprise Institute, 18 November 2022
  • “What Does COVID-19 Mean for the U.S. Healthcare System?,” Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, University of Southern California, 24 March 2021