Big Pharma is like “I know a spot” and takes you to their corporate jets and vacation homes.
1. Cashing in on a Crisis
- Patients For Affordable Drugs released a new report that found drug companies hiked the prices of 245 medications during COVID-19. What’s worse – 75 percent of those drugs are tied to the pandemic — treating COVID-19 symptoms, being tested as potential treatments for the virus, or treating chronic conditions that put patients at higher risk for COVID-19 complications. Big Pharma’s opportunism underscores how, even in a public health crisis, it’s business as usual for drug corporations. — (P4AD)
2. We Can’t Trust Big Pharma
- This week, Gilead made the long-awaited announcement of a price for its drug, remdesivir, which helps to treat symptoms of COVID-19. A five-day course of the drug will cost $2,340 for those covered by government programs and $3,120 for those with private insurance. Let us remind everyone: American taxpayers invested tens of millions of dollars in developing the drug. We’ll now spend even more to access it. History has shown that we can’t trust pharma to look out for our best interests — even in the midst of a global pandemic. — (AP)
3. PhRMA Puts Profits Over Patients… Again
- Hours before a Minnesota law providing free emergency insulin to patients took effect, PhRMA sued the state in an attempt to block the law’s implementation. The law is named after Alec Smith, who died when he couldn’t afford the high cost of his insulin. We will keep fighting with Alec’s parents to ensure everyone can afford the medications they need to live. — (Bloomberg Law)
4. Generics’ Questionable Gambits
- The U.S. Department of Justice charged generic drugmaker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals with conspiring with other drug companies to artificially inflate the price of a cholesterol drug. The alleged tactic brought in $200 million for the companies involved. Drug companies shouldn’t be allowed to get away with shady dealings, especially at the expense of patients. — (Politico)
5. Unredacted
- A records request by drug pricing activists revealed that the BARDA contracts with drug corporations developing COVID-19 treatments left out important reasonable drug pricing protections. The omissions severely weakened the U.S government’s power to ensure future COVID-19 drugs come to market at a fair price for taxpayers. The government cannot afford to bow down to Big Pharma — especially not when our lives are on the line. — (Axios)