Happy 58th Birthday, Medicare! Only 7 more years until you’re eligible for yourself 🥳
Welcome to the Week in Review.
1.  The Inflation Reduction Act: Building on Medicare’s Reach To Patients
- Medicare celebrated its 58th anniversary this week and patients are applauding the drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act as it builds on the legacy of the monumental program. When marking the anniversary, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison cited the program’s history as a “critical lifeline” and emphasized how the new drug price law builds on this legacy by “allow[ing] Medicare to negotiate drug prices, cap seniors’ insulin costs at $35 a month, and create a $2,000 yearly cap on seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs;” Senator Mark Kelly touted the reforms as a huge step towards reining in Big Pharma’s pricing power; and State Director of AARP Oregon, Bandana Shrestha stated that the reforms’ impact on the 66 million people on Medicare will be “immense.” Jean Busby of North Carolina knows the danger of being unable to afford insulin all too well. She’s had to make several emergency room trips due to “dangerously low blood sugar levels” — but now with the $35 monthly insulin copay cap, she won’t have to ration her insulin which will help her better manage her condition. Steve Knievel of Public Citizen emphasized why Medicare negotiation was so long overdue: “It’s obscene. These drug corporations have made — across the board for the first set of drugs that are going to be negotiated — they’ve made tens of billions of dollars already.” It’s true! Blockbuster drugs like Keytruda grew 19 percent in sales as its manufacturer Merck filed a bogus lawsuit to try to block Medicare negotiation. Patients aren’t fooled — we’ll continue to honor Medicare’s anniversary by ensuring taxpayers and patients get a better deal through negotiation. — (DNC, Arizona Republic, Kiowa County Press, NC Newsline, The Hill, Precision Medicine Online)
 2.  Buildup To September’s Congressional Session
- Congress is in recess until September and the pressure is on to advance bipartisan drug price reforms once members return. Before Congress adjourned, the Senate Finance Committee advanced legislation addressing the opaque practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and Chairman Ron Wyden and Ranking Member Mike Crapo previewed that more PBM legislation will be up for votes in the coming months. These PBM reforms are expected to be combined with bipartisan legislative packages that have passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and Senate Commerce committees, Politico reported. Similarly in the House, members across committees are gearing up legislation on drug price transparency and PBM practices to be voted on this September. Reforms addressing competition, PBMs, and transparency could be combined with “must pass” health measures in a bipartisan package when Congress returns in September. Congress: keep up the good work! — (Politico, Axios)
3.  Patent Abuse: “Profits At Any Price”
- More evidence this week that drug companies game the patent system to extend market exclusivity on drugs and rake in obscene profits. A new study published in JAMA found that the manufacturers of a new class of obesity and diabetes drugs have filed for an average of nearly 20 patents per product, securing a median of 18.3 years of market exclusivity after FDA approval for these blockbuster products. “More than half of all patents were obtained on the delivery devices rather than active ingredients,” wrote the authors of the study. This latest example of patent abuse highlights the urgent need for reforms to our patent and regulatory systems. Without reforms that address this issue, drugs will continue to be priced out of reach for patients — like the blockbuster drug Humira. AbbVie blocked any competition to Humira via patent thickets for nearly 20 years and forced patients to pay high, unjustified prices. Dr. Patrick Neustatter wrote in an op-ed, “It is, of course, the job of any company to make money, but today’s mantra seems to be “profits at any price.”” Drug corporations will do anything to maximize their profit margins, even at the expense of patients. We urgently need to fix our rigged patent system to ensure that generic competition can come to market to drive down drug prices! — (Axios, The Free Lance-Star)Â
BONUS: P4AD submitted comments to the NIH ahead of its workshop Monday, calling on the agency to address the issue of fair pricing for all NIH and taxpayer-funded drugs and make the workshop patient-centered. Worth a read!
Have a great weekend!Â