Welcome to the Week in Review.
1. Biden Promises to Expand The Inflation Reduction Act
- Key Senators remain committed to advancing bipartisan bills aimed at cracking down on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their opaque tactics, which drive up costs for patients and taxpayers. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, joined by advocates, held a press conference yesterday to encourage legislative action that would hold the secretive middlemen accountable. PBMs negotiate discounts, or rebates, with drug companies in exchange for preferable placement on formularies. However, the specific terms of these rebate contracts, including the amount of the discounts and how they benefit patients, are not disclosed to the public. As a result, it’s unclear whether PBMs are using their power to ensure patients are getting the best drug at the best price. Prior to the press conference, the Senators penned a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and members of the Senate Finance Committee, reaffirming their commitment to increase transparency and accountability in the PBM industry during this Congress. It’s time to pass reforms to ensure PBMs prioritize serving patients and consumers over padding their bottom line. — (Senate Finance Committee, Axios, Fierce Healthcare, DCNewsNow Vimeo, Center for American Progress, Senate Finance Committee)
2. Exposing Big Pharma Lies
- Despite warnings from Big Pharma suggesting the drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act would stifle research and development (R&D) efforts and impede profits, recent data presents a starkly different picture. Contrary to the narrative propagated by drug companies and their trade associations, the industry is investing in R&D at record levels. Top drug companies have spent $153 billion on R&D, and mergers and acquisitions are increasing at a steady pace. Additionally, costly advertising slots for major TV entertainment events this year, like the Super Bowl and The Oscars, were dominated by drug industry behemoths Pfizer and AbbVie. A report from Protect Our Care showed that last year alone, 16 of the largest drug companies reported $684 billion in earnings, a shocking figure that reflects the absurdly high prices set by drug makers. It’s glaringly apparent that Big Pharma is swimming in profits, all while patients struggle to afford essential medications. — (Endpoints, STAT News, Wall Street Journal, Axios, Fierce Pharma, Protect Our Care, Accountable.US)
3. Medicare Negotiation Puts Patients Over Profit
- Big Pharma is marshaling its vast resources toward stopping the implementation of Medicare negotiations, one of the most popular and transformative drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act. Kelly Bagby, Vice President at AARP Foundation Litigation, succinctly explained the objectives behind the various lawsuits pharmaceutical corporations have filed: “They want to make sure their historical profitability is maintained, and not changed, while at the same time trying to delay everything.” To date, however, judges in three district courts have sided with the Biden administration, and last week, oral arguments were presented in four cases brought by big drug companies, during which, the judge expressed skepticism that anything other than maintaining their bottom line motivated their challenges to Medicare negotiation. “All of the momentum is clearly on the side of the government at this point, and not on the side of some of these other manufacturers,” Theresa Carnegie, a health care attorney with Mintz Levin, told CNBC. — (P4ADNow, The Washington Post, FiercePharma, Bloomberg Law, CNBC, Forbes, STAT News, CNBC)
BONUS: A new study from Bentley University shows that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invested $11.7 billion on research leading to the approval of the first 10 drugs up for Medicare negotiation. Lower negotiated drug prices will help ensure patients and taxpayers get a better deal on these widely-used, high-cost medications. We deserve a fair return on the drugs taxpayers paid to invent!
Have a great weekend!