Welcome to the Week in Review.
Key Bipartisan Drug Bills Introduced In Senate
Big Pharma has spent decades exploiting loopholes in the patent system to extend monopolies, block competition, and keep drug prices high. Senators Cornyn, Blumenthal, Grassley, and Durbin took a step to curb these abuses this week by reintroducing the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act (S.1041) – previously S.150 – a bipartisan bill to help crack down on “patent thicketing” by limiting the number of patents pharmaceutical companies can assert on biologic drugs. The bill is predicted to save taxpayers $1.8 billion over a decade. The same senators also introduced S.1040 to prohibit product-hopping – an anti-competitive strategy where a brand-name drug company switches patients to a “newer” version of an existing drug without generic competition just when the older version is about to face competition. In the 118th Congress, these reforms were originally introduced as one combined bill under the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. However, during markup, the product hopping provision was removed, allowing the remaining patent thicketing portion of the bill to advance and ultimately pass the Senate unanimously in July 2024. Now, in the 119th Congress, these reforms have been re-introduced as two separate bills. The momentum behind these reforms has been powered by patients who sent over 40k letters and made over 30k calls to Congress demanding action. The Senate must act now to pass these crucial reforms that will help bring down costs for patients and taxpayers, increase competition, and deliver relief to Americans struggling with high drug prices. — (P4ADNow, Politico, Congress.gov, Congress.gov, P4ADNow)
CMS Ends Innovative Payment Models
On Wednesday, CMS announced it will not move forward with two prescription drug payment demonstration programs proposed under the previous administration. While these models were not yet in effect, the Medicare $2 Drug List Model would have capped the copay for certain generic drugs covered by Medicare at $2 a month, and the Accelerating Clinical Evidence Model would have incentivized the completion of confirmatory trials for drugs with accelerated FDA approval. However, CMS is, for now, continuing the Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model to help Medicaid patients, starting with those living with sickle cell disease, by increasing access to potentially transformative treatments and reducing health care costs and burdens to state Medicaid programs. With one in three Americans struggling to afford their prescription drugs and nine in 10 voters calling for Congress to prioritize further action to lower drug costs, it is concerning that CMS has chosen to halt the implementation of two of these models that could have provided relief to patients. — (Inside Health Policy, Axios, CMS, CMS, Politico, KFF, P4ADNow)
Novo Nordisk Ramps Us Lobbying
Novo Nordisk is bolstering efforts to protect its massive profits by hiring a lobbyist who previously worked to weaken key provisions in the 2022 prescription drug law. The company has become a poster child for pharmaceutical industry greed, raking in billions from its expensive GLP-1 treatments while aggressively lobbying against drug price reforms. In 2024, the company shattered its own record, spending $5.8 million on lobbying, much of which was used to oppose legislative solutions to lower drug prices. But its efforts don’t stop there. The company is also waging a legal battle. Determined to maintain its monopoly pricing power over its drugs, Novo Nordisk is one of eight companies that have filed lawsuits to block the implementation of the Medicare negotiation program which could reduce prices on several of the company’s blockbuster drugs over the next two years. But patients are fighting back. P4AD filed an amicus brief in the case amplifying the voices of those who urgently need lower negotiated prices and would suffer if Novo Nordisk was successful in the courtroom. It’s US v. Pharma: patients fought hard for these reforms, and they won’t let Big Pharma strip them away. — (NPR, Open Secrets, Politico, The Lever, KFF, Pew Research, P4AD, Fightpharma.org)
Attorneys Recalled to Defend Medicare Negotiation
Eli Lilly’s massive profits from GLP-1 treatments Mounjaro and Zepbound contributed to CEO David Ricks’ staggering $114 million salary in 2024. Whether drug industry executives take home $20 million or $100 million, it’s a stark reminder of who it is that foots the bill: patients and taxpayers.
Subscribe to the WEEK IN REVIEW here.