Latest News | Dec 16, 2023

The Week in Review in Prescription Drug Pricing

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1. Taking Aim At Soaring Drug Prices

2.  Enforcing Fair Drug Pricing

3.  Setting the Stage For Senate Health Care Package

BONUS: Not all patient groups are what they seem! This new report from Public Citizen shows the power of Pharma dollars at work and how they leverage patient groups to do their bidding including during the fight to pass the drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act. Their actions keep prices high for patients. From the report; “if a patient advocacy group expresses doubts about a drug-pricing bill, that may have a greater impact. If a local advocacy organization publishes an op-ed in the member’s local paper, that will no doubt get a member’s attention. If a new controversial drug to treat a disease gets the ringing endorsement of the patient group representing those inflicted with the disease, that could carry great weight”. Bottom line: If you’re in bed with pharma, you’re not doing enough on drug pricing. To understand the influence of Pharma on a patient group see P4AD’s The Hidden Hand and the 2023 Update Hiding in Plain Sight. (KFF Health News

Have a great weekend! 

As we approach the end of 2023, we wanted to highlight the historic drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act delivering relief to millions of patients on Medicare.

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1.The Inflation Reduction Act Delivers Long-Sought Relief

 2.  Patent Abuse Watch

 3.  States Push For Lower Insulin Prices

BONUS: P4ADNow salutes  Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley for introducing bipartisan legislation to increase price transparency in direct to consumer advertisements on prescription drugs. Thank you Senators for prioritizing patients over the interests of Big Pharma!

Have a great weekend! 

Patients Thank Senator Schumer For Leading Historic Reforms To Lower Drug Prices And Push For Bills To Curb Anti-Competitive Practices And Boost Generic Competition

NEW YORK — Over 100 patients from New York who depend on essential, high-priced medications sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer thanking him for his work to lower drug prices and urging him to continue his efforts to make medicines more affordable by including legislation that would curb patent abuse and increase competition in a January health care package.
 
The letter to Senator Schumer endorses a package of bipartisan bills, which, having received committee approval, address the anti-competitive tactics employed by drug companies to delay the entry of generic competition necessary to reduce drug prices. These legislative reforms are anticipated to substantially decrease prices and out-of-pocket expenses for millions of patients and result in significant savings for taxpayers.
 
“We stand in support of the bipartisan bills aimed at curbing these anti-competitive practices,” the letter reads. “We know that you and Senators on both sides of the aisle have been working to advance these measures. It’s critical that we take action now to improve competition and address the loopholes exploited by Big Pharma. Doing so will lead to lower out-of-pocket costs for millions of people and substantial savings for taxpayers.’
 
The bills included are: 


“As your constituents in New York, we are committed to supporting your efforts to make progress on these critical bills,” the letter continues. “We laud your dedication to this cause and we are eager to see you build on the work you’ve already achieved to ensure these bipartisan bills are enacted to further lower prescription drug prices for patients nationwide.”
 
Read the full letter and list of signers here and below. 
 
——– 
 
Senator Chuck Schumer
Majority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
 
Dear Senator Schumer,
 
As patients from New York who rely on expensive medications to treat our illnesses or conditions we are particularly impacted by the high price of prescription drugs. We are writing to express our gratitude for your tireless efforts in championing vital prescription drug reforms to make medications more accessible and affordable for all.
 
The Inflation Reduction Act was instrumental in securing historic reforms such as drug price negotiation under Medicare, an out-of-pocket cap in Medicare Part D, and inflation-based rebates for drugs in Medicare Part B and D. These initiatives will significantly alleviate the burden of high prescription drug costs for many of us in our community and millions across the country. The actions you’ve taken are positively impacting the lives of seniors, people with disabilities, and many others relying on Medicare for essential medications.
 
Despite all that progress, we recognize that you are well aware that more work is needed to ensure continued progress to combat exorbitant prescription drug prices. As you know, Big Pharma uses anti-competitive practices, like patent thickets, product hopping, and pay-for-delay arrangements, to hinder the entry of generic and biosimilar medications into the market, obstructing market competition that would reduce drug prices for patients across the country.
 
We stand in support of the bipartisan bills aimed at curbing these anti-competitive practices. We know that you and Senators on both sides of the aisle have been working to advance these measures. It’s critical that we take action now to improve competition and address the loopholes exploited by Big Pharma. Doing so will lead to lower out-of-pocket costs for millions of people and substantial savings for taxpayers.
 
As your constituents in New York, we are committed to supporting your efforts to make progress on these critical bills. We laud your dedication to this cause and we are eager to see you build on the work you’ve already achieved to ensure these bipartisan bills are enacted to further lower prescription drug prices for patients nationwide.
 
Thank you for your unwavering commitment to lower drug prices for all Americans. We stand with you and eagerly anticipate this package of crucial bills being brought to the floor so we can enhance competition for prescription drugs and reduce costs for patients.
 
Sincerely,
 
[Patient Signatures]
 

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Vote Sets Stage For Negotiation On Bipartisan Bills Promoting Competition Making Their Way Through The Senate

The following statement was issued by Merith Basey, executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, after the House of Representatives passed the “Lower Costs, More Transparency Act”: 

“The House’s decisive bipartisan action tonight in passing the “Lower Costs, More Transparency Act” including measures to increase transparency and further tackle high drug prices by improving the generic drug approval process, is highly encouraging and moves the Congress in the right direction. This development boosts the momentum for the Senate leadership to move forward with a comprehensive health care package, encompassing bills aimed at lowering drug prices by addressing patent abuses and other anti-competitive tactics employed by drug companies to delay generic and biosimilar competition. This action helps to pave the way for a bipartisan end of year package that can lower prescription drug prices for everyone.”

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Wishing everyone a restful and restorative Thanksgiving break! Here’s a roundup featuring P4AD patient advocates at the virtual CMS Listening Sessions for the Medicare Negotiation Program 

Despite the presence of pharma talking points saturating the sessions, we want to express our deepest thanks to all P4AD patient advocates, whose stories illuminate the urgency and impact of Medicare negotiations. It’s undeniable that the success of the historic drug price reforms within the Inflation Reduction Act is due to the power and dedication of these patient advocates speaking out in direct opposition to pharma interests.

Have a great holiday! 

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Welcome to the Week in Review.

1. Deflating Big Pharma Lies

 2.  Patients Need Competition To Lower Prices

 3.  Insulin Affordability Crisis

BONUS: P4AD’s David Mitchell was one of several co-authors on this new paper in Nature that examines the ways that universities and academic medical centers, which receive large amounts of funding from taxpayers, can better ensure medicines including novel gene therapies are priced to maximize public health and lessen the burden that high drug prices impose on patients and society.

Have a great weekend! 

Happy Veterans Day to our nation’s heroes and their families.
 
In the spirit of the Medicare negotiation listening sessions, a reminder that the Department of Veteran Affairs has been negotiating drug prices since 1993.

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1. CMS Listening Sessions Continue

 2.  Momentum To Curb Patent Abuses

BONUS: For our bilingual readers – shout out to our very own Jesse Aguirre for his op ed published in El Planeta yesterday in Spanish on how Patient stories have the potential to overturn the status quo of Big Pharma. Bravo!

Have a great weekend! 

On November 1st, Ady Barkan, co-founder of Be A Hero, widely-known advocate in the fight for health justice, and who got his start in health advocacy at UAEM, died of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 39 years old. When he was diagnosed in 2016, Ady chose to leverage his own powerful patient story to persuade policymakers to prioritize people over profit. He will be sorely missed but his impact and legacy to help transform the US healthcare system will continue.

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1. P4ADNow Urges Senate Leadership To Pass Competition Bills

 2.  P4AD Patient Advocates At CMS Listening Sessions

3.  Medicare Negotiations Will Bring Relief To Patients

4.  On The Horizon: Sickle Cell Disease Gene Therapy

Have a great weekend!