Welcome to the Week in Review.
Pharma Launches New Lobbying Group
AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Merck have launched a new lobbying group aimed squarely at undermining the popular Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program — the most significant check on pharma’s monopoly power in decades. Since the law’s passage in 2022, the industry has poured billions into lobbying and filed numerous lawsuits to block this progress. But the courts continue to side with patients. Having failed in court 12 times, drug companies are doubling down on their legislative strategy, with record-breaking lobbying spends in Q1 and Q2 and the launch of this new front group. Yet momentum remains with patients: Medicare negotiation continues to move forward, with STAT News reporting that the administration may push for even lower prices in the next round of negotiation, another win for Americans who are tired of paying the highest drug prices in the world. — [STAT News, P4AD, Endpoints News, POLITICO Pro, STAT News, Bloomberg Law]
Eli Lilly’s Price Hikes Abroad
Eli Lilly has indicated plans to significantly raise drug prices in Europe, without making any commitment to reducing prices in the United States. The company, like other manufacturers, already earns healthy profits in every country where it operates, yet Americans pay four to eight times more than people in peer nations for the same medicines. Raising prices abroad will do nothing to make medicines more affordable for Americans. By moving forward with a Most Favored Nation-style approach, the administration has the potential to secure a better deal for U.S. patients, but only if it includes enforcement mechanisms to prevent pharma from gaming the system and shifting costs elsewhere. Pharma action alone will not lower prices. — [CNN, STAT News, BioPharma Dive, Reuters, CNBC, Inside Health Policy]
MAHA Takes Aim at Pharma DTC Advertising
On Wednesday, it was reported that leaked documents from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission included plans to implement new oversight measures on pharma’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising — specifically on “deceptive” marketing tactics. In recent months, we’ve seen a growing trend of legislation introduced that would target these practices, including the bipartisan and P4ADNow-endorsed No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act, which would eliminate a tax break that allows Big Pharma to flood the airwaves and grow their influence at the expense of taxpayers. The U.S. is one of only two countries that allows DTC advertising for pharmaceutical drugs, and HHS Secretary RFK Jr. has long criticized this practice. Americans understand that pharma is the reason drug prices are high, and the desire to crack down on this practice shows there’s a real appetite for common sense industry reform. — [PharmaVoice, Washington Examiner, Hawley, X]
ICYMI
A new op-ed in Health Affairs this week highlighted Congress’s opportunity to crack down on patent thickets: a pharma tactic used to block competition in the drug market. The piece underscores the need for bipartisan bills like the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act, a bill unanimously passed by the Senate last year, which would limit the number of patents a drug company can assert on a biologic drug. — [HealthAffairs, P4ADNow]
Patient Advocate Spotlight: Jackie Trapp
Condition: Multiple Myeloma, an incurable blood cancer
Drug(s): Revlimid ($180k / year before the $2k cap) and Xarelto
Background: Former high school teacher from Muskego, WI
In her words:
“Since my diagnosis ten years ago, the price of my prescriptions has been a constant source of stress and instability in my life. We have decimated our life savings and equity and have put off appointments we deem less vital. I am grateful for the drug that has saved my life, but I am also resentful that the financial burden is draining my life at the same time. The out-of-pocket cap is life-changing for my husband and me. We are finally able to replenish our savings account and do things we have been putting off, like seeing the dentist — and I don’t have to worry about leaving my husband bankrupt.”
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