To high drug prices we say, bye bye baby.
Welcome to the Week in Review.
- Big Pharma’s Big Lie
- This week, Patients For Affordable Drugs released a new video dismantling Big Pharma’s myth that lowering drug prices by any amount will kill innovation and new drug development. The video features P4AD founder David Mitchell, who explains that taxpayers are the true drivers of innovation. “We can have fair prices and profits and get the innovation we need,” he says. “Don’t fall for Big Pharma’s big lie.”— (P4AD)
2. “We Need Reforms Now”
- Patient advocates Karolina Chorvath, who lives with Crohn’s disease, and Jay Gironimi, who lives with cystic fibrosis, shared their stories about drug prices at a press conference this week with the governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The event announced the governors’ proposed legislation that would cap annual drug price hikes and fine drug companies for excessive price increases. “Like so many others, I live at the mercy of drug corporations,” Karolina said. “I shouldn’t be forced to decide between financial ruin and detrimental health outcomes,” Jay added. — (Stamford Advocate)
3. Consequences Of Corporate Consolidation
- In a new op-ed, law professor Robin Feldman breaks down how drug corporation mergers are eliminating competition, reducing innovation, and driving up drug prices. Pharma claims that drug prices must be kept high to incentivize innovation, yet the industry is in the midst of a wave ofmergers that will likely reduce patient choice as prices continue to climb. It’s just another example of Big Pharma’s big time greed. — (The Washington Post)
4. Voters Demand Change
- While pharma is enjoying a reputation boost during the pandemic, polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans still believe that high drug prices must be reined in and that Medicare should be allowed to negotiate for lower prices. Tackling high drug prices is a top priority for voters on both sides of the aisle. Lawmakers must stand up for their constituents and pass legislation to curb pharma’s predatory pricing practices. — (Vox)
5. CEOs Cash In
- Robert Bradway, CEO of the pharma company Amgen, collected a $20 million compensation package in 2020 as the company’s sales surged. It’s a story we’ve heard over and over again during the past year: As the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the economy and taken hundreds of thousands of lives, drug company CEOs continue to raise prices and profit off the backs of Americans. — (FiercePharma)