Welcome to the Week in Review.

P4AD Report Exposes Pharma-Funded Groups Doing the Industry’s Bidding

As the fight to lower drug prices heats up on Capitol Hill, P4AD released a new report, The Rampant Reach of Pharma’s Hidden Hand, uncovering the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to fund, influence, and in some cases, fully operate, front groups that claim to represent the interests of patients while working to protect drug company profits. The research is a continuation of P4AD’s multi-year investigation into pharma’s behind-the-scenes manipulation of public debate on drug pricing, building on our 2021 and 2023 reports with six new industry-backed organizations: the Alliance for Aging Research, the American Action Forum, the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, the Pacific Research Institute, and Seniors 4 Better Care. Each group claims to advocate for patients, but their real mission is clear: protect drug industry profits and delay or derail reforms that would bring prices down. If these groups truly advocated for patients, they’d listen when 90% of Americans demand more action to lower drug prices. — [P4AD Report, Arnold Ventures, Common Dreams, Truthout, The Lever]

Centering Patient Stories at CHCI   

P4AD’s Executive Director, Merith Basey, joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s (CHCI) annual Health Summit to discuss reforms to improve prescription drug access among Latino communities and ensure patient stories were front and center. America is in the midst of a drug pricing crisis, and the panel, “Balancing Drug Affordability and Innovation: Ensuring Access While Advancing Research,” was a conversation with representatives from PhRMA and researchers on the reforms needed to fix a system rigged against patients. The pharmaceutical industry deserves to be held accountable for its role as the true driver of high prices, and Merith stood up for patients throughout the conversation. Innovation and affordability aren’t opposing forces, but with 29 million Americans now considered “cost-desperate” when it comes to their medication, it’s clear that we need to take real steps to rein in monopoly pricing, increase transparency, and expand Medicare negotiation. Drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them, and there’s no value in medical breakthroughs that patients can’t access. — [CHCI, Gallup]

The ORPHAN Cures Act Will Cost Taxpayers Billions

The ORPHAN Cures Act is an unnecessary giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry, and it would cost taxpayers billions. On Thursday, the House passed a reconciliation package that includes this harmful provision, which would weaken Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices by exempting more drugs or delaying their eligibility. Just months before the first negotiated prices are set to take effect, lawmakers added a costly loophole that would delay relief for patients and add $4.8 billion to taxpayer costs over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill now moves to the Senate, and P4ADNow urges lawmakers to reject this deeply flawed legislation. Including ORPHAN Cures and its multibillion-dollar price tag in the final package would be a serious mistake. — [Congress.gov, CBO, P4ADNow, Fierce Healthcare] 

ICYMI

HHS announced targets for pharmaceutical companies following President Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” executive order last week. As always, the devil is in the details, and P4ADNow will be watching closely as this policy continues to develop.

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