Welcome to the Week in Review.

Patient Victory: ORPHAN Cures Act Excluded from Reconciliation Text

This week, patients scored a key victory as the Senate Finance Committee released reconciliation text that excluded the harmful ORPHAN Cures Act – a pharma-backed proposal that would have weakened the Medicare Negotiation Program and protected drug company profits at the expense of patients. Over the past several weeks, P4ADNOW patient advocates mobilized to oppose the provision: sending 13,326 letters to Congress, meeting with lawmakers, and telling their powerful stories – including an Alabama patient advocate, Beth, who spoke with her senators. Beth takes Jakafi, an orphan drug that costs $17,500 every month, and she spoke out about how the Orphan Cures Act would exempt Jakafi and other orphan drugs from eventual price negotiations. Last Thursday, P4ADNOW and AARP joined forces to send a letter to Senate offices opposing the inclusion of ORPHAN. We’re proud to stand with the patients who made this happen, and we’ll keep fighting to ensure no version of ORPHAN resurfaces and every patient can get the medications they need at prices they can afford. — [P4ADNow, InsideHealthPolicy, POLITICO, Endpoints, Fierce Pharma, FirstWord Pharma, AInvest, Global Genes, The Pharma Letter]

I-MAK Releases New Report on Pharma Patent Abuse

On Tuesday, I-MAK published a new report chronicling how drug companies continue to manipulate the patent system to extend monopolies and keep drug prices artificially high. The report, which is part of I-MAK’s Overpatented, Overpriced series, focuses on the top-selling blood thinner Eliquis and the blockbuster family of diabetes and weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy — all of which are included in the second round of Medicare negotiations. By stacking patents to block competition, the report found that Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer have raked in an estimated additional $50.7 billion off Eliquis alone. Novo Nordisk is projected to make a staggering $166 billion over five years in additional profits by extending monopolies on its GLP-1 drugs. The report reinforces why patent reform is one of P4AD’s top priorities — and why Congress must act to stop pharmaceutical companies from using monopoly tactics to keep drug prices high for patients. — [I-MAK]

In Case You Missed It

The administration’s termination of over $1 billion in National Institute of Health (NIH) research grants was overruled by a federal judge this week. The NIH plays a critical role in drug development. In fact, 99 percent of drugs that received FDA approval between 2010 and 2019 received federal funding during their R&D. — [NIH, NBC News, Reuters, The Hill, Axios]

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