1. Congress Still Has Time to Address Drug Prices
- Senator Chuck Grassley is pushing for a vote on the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act before the November election. The bipartisan bill, which would rein in price gouging and cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for people on Medicare, is sorely needed always, but especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic’s continued economic devastation. — (Bloomberg)
2. Let’s Put the Public Good First
- A prominent Wall Street analyst predicted Gilead Science’s COVID-19 treatment remdesivir will nab $5,000 per course in the U.S., a figure that would reap $7.7 billion in sales for the giant drug company by 2022. Let’s remember taxpayers paid to develop remdesivir, a failed Ebola treatment that has shown only limited benefit in COVID-19. It all underscores why the U.S. government must negotiate for drug prices on behalf of the public and stop letting pharma charge whatever it can get away with. — (Reuters)
3. COVID-19 Drugs Won’t Work if People Can’t Afford Them
- House Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) announced plans this week to propose a host of reforms to ensure COVID-19 drug affordability. We agree prices for taxpayer-funded COVID-19 vaccines and treatments must be set fairly to ensure affordability and accessibility for all who need them. — (Newsweek)
4. Details, Please
- Chairs of two key House committees wrote to HHS Secretary Alex Azar asking whether the terms of government contracts with pharma companies to develop COVID-19 drugs include safeguards to ensure affordable prices. We are hoping the answer is YES. — (The Hill)
5. We Agree With This Conclusion
- A new study examined the price tags of 42 cancer drugs launched between 2009 and 2019, comparing U.S. pricing to that of Germany, England, and Switzerland. The investigators found U.S. launch prices soared above prices of the same drugs in Europe. And, while prices in Europe fell after launch, U.S. prices continued to climb. The difference? European countries negotiate a better deal for their citizens. The U.S. doesn’t. ASCO study authors concluded the U.S. could reduce drug prices by negotiating, and we couldn’t agree more. — (The Center For Biosimilars)