Welcome to the Week in Review.

AstraZeneca Strikes Deal with Trump, While Undermining Admin’s Powers Behind the Scenes

The Trump administration announced that AstraZeneca struck a deal to sell certain drugs to Medicaid at a discount, and committed to listing any new drugs it releases on the TrumpRx platform. It’s the third deal, and points to how the industry is performing the bare minimum with little actual substance to get on the administration’s good side. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot joined the White House rollout to praise the partnership, but behind the scenes, the company is pushing hard to block Trump’s ability to lower prices through Medicare, escalating its lawsuit against the Medicare Negotiation Program via a petition to the Supreme Court. AstraZeneca’s performative price reductions to win political points with the White House, while simultaneously fighting to maintain its monopoly pricing on its diabetes drug Farxiga aren’t fooling us. — [Washington Post, White House, STAT News, WBUR, The Hill, CMS, STAT News, Endpoints News, Healthcare Finance]

All Eyes On CMS

All eyes are on CMS as the agency prepares to announce the Maximum Fair Prices for the second round of Medicare drug negotiations. Wednesday marked the deadline for CMS to send offers to the manufacturers of the 15 high-cost drugs, after which manufacturers have until the end of the month to accept the new, lower prices, or withdraw from participation in federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid. It’s a pivotal moment in the implementation of this historic reform, and will be proof that the Trump Administration is continuing the implementation of the program, launched under the previous administration. With round one prices taking effect on January 1st and the industry continuing to lose in court, this next phase shows that negotiating prices and standing with patients can transcend party politics and find widespread support among American voters. — [KFF, Arnold Ventures]

Pharma Fact Check

Big Pharma and its allies are recycling familiar talking points to justify monopolies and sky-high profits. A recent Pharmaceutical Executive article offers a snapshot of some of the industry’s most popular arguments, and why they fall apart under scrutiny: 

Claim: “It is unfair to the pharma industry to put these kinds of limits and caps on what they’re doing. Making the pharma industry cap out costs could stifle innovation.” 

Fact Check: Pharmaceutical companies still retain complete control over launch prices. Since the IRA passed, R&D spending has continued to grow, and CBO projects that Medicare negotiation will have less than a 1% impact on the number of new drugs developed over 30 years. The real threat to innovation isn’t fair pricing, it’s a system that lets companies profit from endless monopoly extensions. Meanwhile, every other service or medical product has a set price under Medicare. For years, pharma is the only part of our health care system that’s been gifted the ability to set their own prices.

Claim: “The pharma industry has helped to cure major diseases, like polio.”

Fact Check: The claim that “pharma cured polio” is misleading. The polio vaccine was developed in 1955 by Dr. Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh, with the support of public funding. Salk refused to patent the vaccine, famously saying, “Could you patent the sun?” and was committed to equitable access to the vaccine. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding was involved in basic or applied research related to over 99% of drugs approved by the FDA from 2010 to 2019. 

Claim: On tariffs: “Will there potentially be an increase in cost? There could be. How much will get passed down to the patient? That remains to be seen.” 

Fact Check: Raising import costs is expected to increase prices, and history shows that drugmakers will pass those costs to patients, rather than absorb them. In reality, only 10% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in U.S medicines are produced domestically. Additionally, Trump’s proposed 100% tariff would only apply to brand-name drugs, which already make up three quarters of drug spending despite only being 10% of prescriptions — meaning the patients who rely on these drugs would be hit the hardest. 

In Case You Missed It

On Saturday, P4AD advocate Janet Kerrigan joined NewsNation to discuss her struggles with high drug prices. In the decade since her diagnosis with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, Janet has been through chemotherapy, a transplant, years of high-priced prescription drugs, and, most recently, CAR-T treatment — and she’s still fighting to lower drug prices for patients. You can watch the full interview here. 

Patient Advocate Spotlight: Jacquie Persson
Background: Graphic designer and marketing manager in Waterloo, Iowa
Condition: Crohn’s Disease
Drug: Otulfi ($3,619 / month)

In her words: “Since my diagnosis, I have been fortunate enough to have good insurance, making all of the medications that I need within reach. Even with my exceptional coverage, not a day goes by that I do not stress about the what-ifs. What if I lose my job? What if my employer changes our insurance plan and my treatment is no longer affordable or covered? What if I am sick enough that I need extended time off from work? To make matters worse, stress is my number one trigger when it comes to my Crohn’s disease flare-ups, so living with these what ifs can just make me sicker.”

Jacquie recently spoke with Reuters about her struggles with high drug prices. 

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