THE WASHINGTON POST: “Company executives refuse to promise they won’t profit over a coronavirus vaccine”
WASHINGTON, DC — During today’s Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, five drug company executives failed to promise their companies would not make a profit on COVID-19 vaccines. In response, Ben Wakana, the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“Big Pharma’s not-for-profit pledge turned out to be a PR stunt. Further scrutiny reveals it to be time-limited, dose-limited, and geographically limited. Those conditions assure an unfettered profit for drug corporations. The lesson from today’s hearing is important and unsurprising: Drug corporations plan to profit from COVID-19 vaccines and treatments that were developed with taxpayer funding. It’s time for Congress to put guardrails in place to stop corporations from profiteering during a pandemic.”
During a hearing with pharmaceutical company executives over efforts to develop a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine, the five executives testifying did not promise to offer a vaccine for free or that they would not profit from it.
In response to questions about pricing their vaccines, most company executives refused to commit to not making a profit on it, or they said they would not make a profit in a specific contract or during the pandemic — rather than making any sort of long-term pledge on pricing.
“We recognize these are extraordinary times, and our pricing will reflect that during the time of the pandemic. We’ll price our potential vaccine consistent with the urgent global health emergency that we’re facing,” said John Young, chief business officer of Pfizer, adding that he felt strongly the vaccine should be free to the public.
Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals at AstraZeneca, said the company had agreed to provide 300 million doses to the United States through its $1.2 billion agreement with BARDA at no profit.
The price consumers will pay for a vaccine and therapeutics for the coronavirus has been a point of frequent discussion among congressional lawmakers and at hearings related to the pandemic response. Taxpayers are footing a significant part of the bill for the country’s vaccine development and treatment research, and several lawmakers have raised concerns that pharmaceutical companies will profit during the pandemic.
In the middle of a pandemic, pharmaceutical companies hiked the prices of 42 drugs, including important medications for conditions like heartburn, respiratory illnesses, and ADHD. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and health insurance and are forced to pay even higher prices — all while pharma continues to line their pockets. — (Politico)
2. More Taxpayer Funds for Pharma
The U.S. government signed the largest Operation Warp Speed contract yet with a commitment of $1.6 billion to Novavax for its potential COVID-19 vaccine. The same day, the government announced a $450 million contract with Regeneron, its first Warp Speed contract for a COVID-19 treatment. As American taxpayers continue to fund these important drugs, we need Congressional action more than ever to ensure we won’t pay twice for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. — (Reuters)
3. Transparency Law Shows Skyrocketing Prices
A new report, required each year thanks to a 2017 Nevada prescription drug price transparency law, revealed that nearly 120 essential diabetes drugs have seen a significant price increase in the last two years. The average price hike in 2019 was 11.2 percent. This report proves once again that, when left unchecked, drug companies will keep raising prices as patients suffer. — (The Nevada Independent)
4. Novartis Sales Rep Blows Whistle
A former Novartis sales representative shone a federal spotlight on the pharmaceutical giant’s practices of bribing doctors with lavish parties, appealing speaker series, and large gift cards to prescribe its drugs. An investigation led by the Department of Justice revealed that Novartis made at least $40 million off the tactics. To no one’s surprise, pharma will do anything to earn another buck. — (NBC News)
5. Held Hostage by Big Pharma
As the United States continues to face the devastation of the COVID-19 crisis, the need for a vaccine only grows. The federal government has invested billions into pharmaceutical companies’ research and development of vaccines for the virus, but there are no guarantees that they will be priced fairly. We need drug pricing reform now. — (Kaiser Health News)
Big Pharma is like “I know a spot” and takes you to their corporate jets and vacation homes.
1. Cashing in on a Crisis
Patients For Affordable Drugs released a new report that found drug companies hiked the prices of 245 medications during COVID-19. What’s worse – 75 percent of those drugs are tied to the pandemic — treating COVID-19 symptoms, being tested as potential treatments for the virus, or treating chronic conditions that put patients at higher risk for COVID-19 complications. Big Pharma’s opportunism underscores how, even in a public health crisis, it’s business as usual for drug corporations. — (P4AD)
2. We Can’t Trust Big Pharma
This week, Gilead made the long-awaited announcement of a price for its drug, remdesivir, which helps to treat symptoms of COVID-19. A five-day course of the drug will cost $2,340 for those covered by government programs and $3,120 for those with private insurance. Let us remind everyone: American taxpayers invested tens of millions of dollars in developing the drug. We’ll now spend even more to access it. History has shown that we can’t trust pharma to look out for our best interests — even in the midst of a global pandemic. — (AP)
3. PhRMA Puts Profits Over Patients… Again
Hours before a Minnesota law providing free emergency insulin to patients took effect, PhRMA sued the state in an attempt to block the law’s implementation. The law is named after Alec Smith, who died when he couldn’t afford the high cost of his insulin. We will keep fighting with Alec’s parents to ensure everyone can afford the medications they need to live. — (Bloomberg Law)
4. Generics’ Questionable Gambits
The U.S. Department of Justice charged generic drugmaker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals with conspiring with other drug companies to artificially inflate the price of a cholesterol drug. The alleged tactic brought in $200 million for the companies involved. Drug companies shouldn’t be allowed to get away with shady dealings, especially at the expense of patients. — (Politico)
5. Unredacted
A records request by drug pricing activists revealed that the BARDA contracts with drug corporations developing COVID-19 treatments left out important reasonable drug pricing protections. The omissions severely weakened the U.S government’s power to ensure future COVID-19 drugs come to market at a fair price for taxpayers. The government cannot afford to bow down to Big Pharma — especially not when our lives are on the line. — (Axios)
1. More Bad Behavior
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against biotech giant Regeneron alleging that the company violated federal kickback laws. The DOJ says the company siphoned tens of millions of dollars into a patient assistance foundation to cover Medicare patients’ copay for its expensive macular degeneration drug Eylea. The move kept more Medicare beneficiaries on the drug, allowing Regeneron to reap billions of dollars from Medicare reimbursements. It’s yet another example of pharma putting profits over patients. — (Reuters)
2. Congress Calls for COVID-19 Action
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced bills this week designed to ensure taxpayers get a fair price on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. American taxpayers are fueling the research and development of COVID-19 drugs. On behalf of patients, we are grateful for the introduction of these bills and will fight to get them through Congress. — (STAT)
3. Learning From History
A new video released by Patients For Affordable Drugs this week juxtaposes the history of polio vaccine development in the 1950s with the current race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The inventor of the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk, refused to profit from his life-saving creation. It’s a history lesson modern day pharmaceutical manufacturers should learn from in the midst of our current health crisis. — (P4AD)
4. Staking a Claim
A new investigation from Axios and Public Citizen found that the National Institutes of Health has filed patents to stake ownership of the technology behind Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. This means U.S. taxpayers are not only funding the development of potential vaccines but may own parts of the end product. It’s all the more reason, and opportunity, for the government to ensure COVID-19 drugs are affordable and accessible. — (Axios)
5. Let’s Get Our Priorities Straight
Drug companies and U.S. taxpayers are engaged in a tug of war, with pharma angling to capitalize on the COVID-19 crisis while American taxpayers are calling for affordable vaccines and treatments. Drug companies should be allowed to make a fair profit on their products, but not at the cost of patients and public health. — (NPR)
WASHINGTON, DC — The following statement was issued today by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, regarding the introduction of the bipartisan Taxpayer Research and Coronavirus Knowledge (TRACK) Act and Make Medications Affordable by Preventing Pandemic Pricegouging (MMAPPP) Act. “American taxpayers are fueling the research, development, and purchase of treatments and vaccines to fight coronavirus. Given that investment, we must receive transparency into how our money is spent and the actual costs to produce medicines. Prices for taxpayer-funded vaccines and treatments must be set fairly to ensure affordability and accessibility for all who need them, along with a reasonable return for the drugmaker. The two bipartisan bills introduced today aim to accomplish those public policy imperatives. Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is proud to lend its endorsement and will work to support enactment of these important bills.”
BACKGROUND
The Taxpayer Research and Coronavirus Knowledge (TRACK) Act was introduced today by Representatives Doggett (D-TX), Rooney (R-FL), Schakowsky (D-IL), DeLauro (D-CT), and DeFazio (D-OR). The bill would create a comprehensive and user-friendly database of taxpayer investments into COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
The Make Medications Affordable by Preventing Pandemic Pricegouging (MMAPPP) Act was introduced today by Representatives Schakowsky (D-IL), Rooney (R-FL), Doggett (D-TX), DeLauro (D-CT), and DeFazio (D-OR). The bill aims to assure reasonable and affordable prices on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines and would:
Require reasonable pricing for COVID-19 drugs by inserting reasonable pricing clauses in agreements between drug companies and the federal agencies funding drug research and development.
Establish transparency and reporting requirements for drug companies bringing COVID-19 therapeutics to market.
Eliminate exclusive licenses for COVID-19 drugs and allow other drug companies to produce those drugs as long as it pays the original drug company royalties.
Taxpayers have been heavily investing in COVID-19 drug research and development through billions of dollars in BARDA grants. Currently, drug companies receiving taxpayer funds are able to bring these COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to market at any price.
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Survey says: Lower drug prices!
1. More COVID-19 Worries: Drug Prices
A new survey from Gallup shows nearly nine of 10 Americans are worried that the COVID-19 pandemic will give Big Pharma cover to increase drug prices. Americans across the political spectrum support allowing the federal government to negotiate directly with drug makers for a fairly priced COVID-19 treatment. — (Gallup)
2. Who’s Picking Up the Tab?
The White House announced Tuesday that COVID-19 vaccines will be free for any American who is “vulnerable, who cannot afford the vaccine, and [who] desires the vaccine.” That’s good news, but we’re going to need much more transparency to make sure taxpayers aren’t being charged excessive prices for drugs they paid to create. — (CNBC)
3. Memo: You Can’t Have It Both Ways
As the most poorly regarded industry in America, pharma has been eyeing the COVID-19 pandemic as a reputation booster. Experts point out that high COVID-19 drug prices would blow up reputational gains. — (FiercePharma)
While pharma is price fixing, we’ll be fixing drug pricing. Welcome to the Week in Review.
1. Pushing For COVID-19 Profits
Big Pharma and Wall Street are teaming up to push for high prices on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. That’s why we’re calling on Congress to fix the rigged drug pricing system and pass legislation that will ensure Americans pay a fair price for our taxpayer-funded COVID-19 treatments. — (P4AD)
2. Flipping COVID-19 Molecules Like Houses
A Miami hedge fund manager bought the rights to license a COVID-19 pill funded by $16 million in taxpayer grants from Emory University in March and sold those rights to pharma giant Merck just two months later. The terms? An undisclosed upfront sum plus “milestone” payments and a cut of the net proceeds if the drug is ultimately approved. This brand of speculative fervor exemplifies the impact Wall Street and investors have on pricing for potential COVID-19 drugs. – (The Washington Post)
3. Dr. Fauci Got It Wrong This Week
We respect Dr. Fauci, but he got it wrong when he suggested Tuesday that guardrails on profits for taxpayer-funded COVID-19 drugs would impede the drugs’ development. History has proven that his argument that pharma will work in “good faith” doesn’t hold water. — (Bloomberg Law)
4. Pharma Ally Demands Transparency
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobby, called for transparency into multi-million dollar deals struck between pharmaceutical companies and the government to fund COVID-19 drug research and development. The about-face for the Chamber, which has lobbied alongside Big Pharma in the past, is a pretty big sign that the pharmaceutical industry is in for a reckoning. – (The Independent)
5. Topical Takedown
State attorneys general filed a third lawsuit in a massive ongoing probe into the generic drug industry. The suit alleges companies colluded illegally to hike prices and reduce competition for topical drugs used to treat skin conditions, allergies, and pain. It’s business as usual for drug corporations as they bend the rules while patients suffer. — (AP)
1. Congress Still Has Time to Address Drug Prices
Senator Chuck Grassley is pushing for a vote on the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act before the November election. The bipartisan bill, which would rein in price gouging and cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for people on Medicare, is sorely needed always, but especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic’s continued economic devastation. — (Bloomberg)
2. Let’s Put the Public Good First
A prominent Wall Street analyst predicted Gilead Science’s COVID-19 treatment remdesivir will nab $5,000 per course in the U.S., a figure that would reap $7.7 billion in sales for the giant drug company by 2022. Let’s remember taxpayers paid to develop remdesivir, a failed Ebola treatment that has shown only limited benefit in COVID-19. It all underscores why the U.S. government must negotiate for drug prices on behalf of the public and stop letting pharma charge whatever it can get away with. — (Reuters)
3. COVID-19 Drugs Won’t Work if People Can’t Afford Them
House Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) announced plans this week to propose a host of reforms to ensure COVID-19 drug affordability. We agree prices for taxpayer-funded COVID-19 vaccines and treatments must be set fairly to ensure affordability and accessibility for all who need them. — (Newsweek)
4. Details, Please
Chairs of two key House committees wrote to HHS Secretary Alex Azar asking whether the terms of government contracts with pharma companies to develop COVID-19 drugs include safeguards to ensure affordable prices. We are hoping the answer is YES. — (The Hill)
5. We Agree With This Conclusion
A new study examined the price tags of 42 cancer drugs launched between 2009 and 2019, comparing U.S. pricing to that of Germany, England, and Switzerland. The investigators found U.S. launch prices soared above prices of the same drugs in Europe. And, while prices in Europe fell after launch, U.S. prices continued to climb. The difference? European countries negotiate a better deal for their citizens. The U.S. doesn’t. ASCO study authors concluded the U.S. could reduce drug prices by negotiating, and we couldn’t agree more. — (The Center For Biosimilars)
