Welcome to the Week in Review.
P4ADNow Six-Figure Ad Campaign
P4ADNow has launched a six figure ad campaign featuring patients urging legislators to pass a package of bipartisan bills to reform our patent system and lower drug prices. These ads are part of our “Push For Competition To Lower Drug Prices” to advance key legislation in both the House and Senate. The bills include:
The Senate has already unanimously passed an amended version of S.150, which would address patent thickets, signaling a growing appetite from legislators on both sides of the aisle to reform the patent system. Collectively, these Senate bills are estimated to save taxpayers $4.5 billion over the next 10 years. Building on this momentum and to continue pushing for additional bills, P4ADNow and other organizations are planning lobby days on The Hill over the coming weeks.
Big Pharma and its allies are simultaneously pushing harmful patent legislation, including S. 2220 (PREVAIL Act) and S. 2140 (Patent Eligibility Restoration Act). On Wednesday, we sent a letter to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to urge them to vote NO on these bills which would hurt patients. We will continue in our efforts to protect patients and ensure that they are prioritized over industry profits. With growing bipartisan support and patient voices leading this effort, we’re closer than ever to achieving meaningful patent reform. — (Inside Health Policy)
Court Watch: US v. Pharma
Yesterday, P4AD filed an amicus brief in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in lawsuits brought by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Janssen, and AstraZeneca. The brief incorporates the stories of several patients on Medicare who have struggled to afford their medications due to high cost and highlights how lower negotiated prices will make their drugs more affordable. It also counters pharma’s misleading claims about the Inflation Reduction Act, explaining how Medicare negotiation fosters innovation while expanding patient access to life-saving treatments. Additionally, the brief pushes back against industry-funded groups that falsely claim to represent patients, exposing their role in preserving pharma’s monopoly pricing. Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) filed an opposition brief in the cases brought by BMS and Janssen, underscoring the voluntary nature of Medicare negotiations. Oral arguments will be presented in all three cases on October 28th. Despite the drug industry’s seven failed attempts to block Medicare negotiations in court, patients remain vigilant, continuing to defend the law both in the courtroom and in public advocacy efforts. — (P4AD, Bloomberg Law, O’Neill Institute, FightPharma.org)
Out-Of-Pocket Cap Delivers Savings
The Inflation Reduction Act’s annual cap on out-of-pocket costs has already delivered substantial cost savings for patients living with cancer. A University of Michigan study published in JAMA found that the average median cost savings for patients on Medicare Part D taking oral cancer medications, as a result of the out-of-pocket cap, is estimated to be more than $7,000 in 2024. Patients with cancer routinely face steep out-of-pocket costs, upwards of $10,000 a year for their medications. For almost a decade, Jackie Trapp paid over $15,000 annually for her cancer medication Revlimid, but this year because of the IRA her costs were capped at $3,300. The IRA is a victory for patients faced with expensive prescription drugs and we look forward to further savings for patients next year when the cap is further reduced to $2,000. — (MedicalXpress, JAMA, P4AD)
ICYMI
Reforms to lower drug prices continue to have broad bipartisan support from voters. New polling from Navigator Research reveals that 86 percent of Americans support expanding Medicare’s authority to negotiate for lower drug prices and 82 percent support capping the price of insulin at $35 a month, viewing these measures as an essential step towards delivering relief to American families.
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Welcome to the Week in Review.
Patients Push For Competition
On Friday, a group of organizations representing patients, seniors, and employers sent a letter to members of the House Judiciary Committee calling for urgent action on bipartisan legislation in Congress to lower drug prices. The letter urges committee leaders to advance bipartisan bills in the House aimed at reducing Big Pharma’s anti-competitive patent abuses that artificially extend monopolies and keep drug prices high. In addition to Patients for Affordable Drugs Now, the letter was signed by AARP, the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP), the ERISA Industry Committee, the Purchaser Business Group on Health, and the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. The letter detailed abusive tactics such as patent thicketing, product hopping, and pay-for-delay schemes, emphasizing the need for action by the House Judiciary Committee to improve drug pricing competition before the end of the year. The Senate Judiciary Committee has already passed several bipartisan bills to boost competition in the prescription drug market, which are estimated to save taxpayers more than $4.5 billion over the next decade. To maintain momentum on this issue, this week, CSRxP, one of the letter’s signatories, launched a seven figure ad campaign to raise awareness of pharma’s anti-competitive tactics and urge lawmakers to take action. As Congress returns from recess, it’s crucial that legislators heed the demands of patients and consumers by advancing bipartisan bills to reform the patent system and reduce prescription drug costs. — (patientspushforcompetition.org, Axios)
P4AD Advocates In the News
P4AD advocates are continuing to spotlight the historic relief being delivered through the Inflation Reduction Act. On Tuesday, Jackie Trapp, a retired educator from Wisconsin living with multiple myeloma, participated in a virtual White House call and shared how Medicare’s out-of-pocket spending cap has reduced the financial burden of her prescription drugs. After nine years of paying between $15,000 to $21,000 annually for her cancer medication, Jackie told the President during the event that she was able to celebrate the New Year knowing that she wouldn’t have to pay more than $3,300 in January this year after she met the cap, and in 2025, her spending would be further reduced to $2,000 annually. Another patient advocate Judy Aiken was featured in her hometown newspaper, the Portland Press Herald, after introducing both President Biden and Vice President Harris at an event in August celebrating the new lower drug prices under Medicare negotiation. Judy shared how her out-of-pocket costs for her psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis medication Enbrel, which used to cost her over $9,000 a year, have been cut in half this year because of the out-of-pocket cap. The historic drug price law wouldn’t have crossed the finish line without the tireless advocacy of patients like Judy and Jackie, and as the reforms continue to take effect, P4AD will continue to amplify their voices, showcasing the real impact of this hard-fought victory on millions of Americans. — (Spectrum News, The White House, UPI, Courthouse News, Newsweek, Portland Press Herald)
ICYMI
Reforms to lower drug prices continue to have broad bipartisan support from voters. New polling from Navigator Research reveals that 86 percent of Americans support expanding Medicare’s authority to negotiate for lower drug prices and 82 percent support capping the price of insulin at $35 a month, viewing these measures as an essential step towards delivering relief to American families.
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Welcome to the Week in Review.
Historic Drug Prices Law Bring In Savings
The drug price reforms in the historic Inflation Reduction Act are already delivering relief to patients who depend on costly prescription drugs. And even more savings are expected as the law continues to be successfully implemented. A new report from AARP released on Wednesday found that approximately 1.1 million patients on Medicare are expected to reach the new $2,000 out-of-pocket cap between 2025 and 2029 and are estimated to see average savings of $1,100 a year. Further, more than 420,000 people will see annual savings exceeding $3,000 per year. Leigh Purvis, the in AARP’s Prescription Drug Policy Principal and author of the report, emphasized that the $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket costs will shield patients on Medicare who’ve historically had to pay 5 percent of their high-cost prescription drugs in the catastrophic phase, with no limit on the total, resulting in out-of-pocket costs often exceeding $10,000 per year. In addition this week, an analysis released by the Senate Finance Committee on the provision in the drug price law which penalizes drug companies for hiking prices faster than the rate of inflation has shown that it is yielding significant cost savings. The Committee highlighted that the drug companies responsible for price gouging 98 Medicare Part B drugs have been penalized under the inflation rebate program which took effect in January 2023, and as a result, has saved patients and taxpayers $3 billion. Before the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, drug companies had unfettered power to dictate prices to Medicare, forcing patients to pay excessive amounts for their essential medicines. Now, with these curbs on pharma’s monopoly power firmly in place, patients and taxpayers are finally beginning to get a better deal. — (AARP, Reuters, Senate Finance Committee)
Eli Lilly’s Pump Fake
On Tuesday, Eli Lilly launched discounted versions of its weight loss drug Zepbound. The discounts however will apply only to low-dose vials of the drug sold exclusively through its direct-to-consumer online portal and will only be made available for patients without insurance. Eli Lilly’s claims in its press release that the decision is “expanding access and supply” received sharp criticism throughout the week for grossly misrepresenting who the plan would help. The discounted low-dose vials of Zepbound — previously available as injectable pens with a list price of $1,060 per month — will still remain wildly cost prohibitive at their discounted $399 list price for a monthly supply of 2.5 mg vials. Uncoincidentally, on the very same day that Eli Lilly made the discounted vials available, the company quietly increased the price of its autoinjector pen for patients with commercial insurance but without coverage for the treatment, hiking the monthly list price from $550 to $650. Drug corporations like Eli Lilly have arbitrarily hiked prices on insulins for decades and these limited price reductions are a reminder that leopards don’t change their spots. Innovation is worthless if patients can’t access the medicines they need at prices they can afford. — (STAT, Market Watch)
ICYMI
A major new poll of seven diverse states, commissioned by More Perfect Union Foundation, revealed widespread support for measures aimed at delivering relief to patients facing high prescription drug prices. 91 percent of respondents shared that they support the government taking further action to reduce the prices of cancer drugs and 90 percent of respondents support capping prices on inhalers, insulin, and other medical devices.
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Welcome to the Week in Review.
Medicare Negotiation Promises Big Savings
Medicare’s first-ever lower negotiated drug prices will deliver substantial savings for patients and taxpayers when the lower costs take effect in 2026. Lower negotiated prices for just three of the first 10 drugs selected — Enbrel, Stelara, and Eliquis — will account for more than half of the $6 billion in taxpayer savings projected for the first year, according to the Brookings Institution. In a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) press release, CMS illustrated a hypothetical example of a patient benefitting from Medicare negotiation: “a senior with Medicare who takes Stelara pays a 25% coinsurance on the drug which may amount to about $3,400 today for a 30-day supply. When the negotiated price goes into effect in 2026, that same 25% coinsurance would cost the beneficiary about $1,100 before the person reaches the catastrophic cap, after which the beneficiary will pay no more out of pocket on their prescription drugs. A beneficiary’s actual costs will depend on their plan’s benefit design.” The lower negotiated prices will offer more breathing room to the millions of patients on Medicare who pay three to eight times what residents in comparable countries pay for these same medications. The implementation of Medicare negotiation marks a pivotal shift in U.S. drug price policy, promising significant relief while maintaining critical innovation that patients need. P4AD will continue advocating to expand these efforts to ensure lower drug prices for all Americans. — (Brookings Institution, Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services, Commonwealth Fund)
Keeping Our Foot On The Gas
Big Pharma’s monopoly pricing power stems in part from systematic abuses of our patent and regulatory systems, which they manipulate to maintain high prices and delay lower-cost competition from entering the market. Drug manufacturers employed tactics such as pay-for-delay agreements, patent thickets, and product hopping to extend their exclusivity periods on the first 10 negotiated drugs for years. A report from Accountable.US highlighted the blood thinner medication Xarelto as a “prime example” of abusing patent thickets to extend exclusivity periods. Johnson & Johnson, the drug’s manufacturer, filed 49 patents on Xarelto, resulting in over a decade of added market exclusivity and price hikes. Amgen, the manufacturer of the autoimmune disease drug Enbrel, has filed 57 patent applications since the drug came to market in 1990, with 72 percent of applications coming after initial approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These practices underscore the urgent need for legislative action to increase competition and lower drug prices for patients. Currently, there are bipartisan bills in Congress, which have already passed out of Senate committees and which aim to curb pharma’s abuses of the system. These bills are projected to save taxpayers $5 billion over ten years. Earlier this month, the Senate unanimously passed S. 150, the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023, which would address patent thicketing in the biologic market. As Congress returns from recess in September, we urge members in the House to take swift action to build off this momentum and finish the job. We will continue to push for further Senate action to pass the additional bipartisan bills which will enable competition and market forces to lower prices for millions of patients. — (Accountable.US, P4AD, patientspushforcompetition.org)
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“It’s a relief I never thought I’d have”
On Thursday the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the first-ever, lower negotiated prices for all 10 high-cost drugs selected for the inaugural round of Medicare negotiation as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These lower negotiated prices, which take effect in 2026, come after six months of back-and-forth between CMS and drug manufacturers and promise substantial price reductions ranging from 38 to 79 percent for roughly nine million patients who take these medications. Medicare negotiation drove down prices by more than 75 percent for diabetes medications Januvia and Fiasp/NovoLog insulins, promising hundreds of dollars of monthly savings, and significantly reduced the high-priced irritable bowel drug Stelara, which had a 2023 list price of $13,836, by more than 65 percent. These lower prices are expected to save patients $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket in 2026 when they come into effect, and taxpayers will save an estimated $6 billion. Medicare negotiation will mean more breathing room for patients like Judy Aiken, a retired nurse who lives with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis and relies on Enbrel. Judy had the opportunity to share her story directly with President Biden this week as well as introduce him and Vice President Harris at an event in Maryland focused on the new lowered costs. “A lower negotiated price for Enbrel and the nine other medications will lift the financial burden off the shoulders of seniors like me. It’s a relief I never thought I’d have,” Judy shared in her remarks. After decades of advocacy, Medicare can now leverage its negotiating authority to tackle inflated prices of drugs used to treat conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart failure, and chronic conditions – proving that change is possible when patients demand it. — (Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services, NPR, Axios, The New York Times, Newsweek)
Patients Celebrate The IRA During Second Anniversary
Throughout the week, P4AD patient advocates and allies shared how over the last two years the drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act have begun to tackle high prescription drug costs. On Tuesday, Bob Parant, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for over 50 years, and Steven Hadfield, a patient living with type 2 diabetes, participated in a White House panel about the impact of the $35 monthly insulin copay cap. On Wednesday, Kaye Peterson, a retired librarian from KY, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for over 40 years, and Judy Aiken, who suffers from psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis, took part in a celebratory patient community call hosted by P4AD Founder David Mitchell and AARP, with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra participating as a special guest. On the call, Secretary Becerra said that patients can “blow out the candles” to commemorate their tireless advocacy in achieving the reforms in the IRA. Earlier that day, Jackie Trapp, a former educator from Muskego, WI, participated in a press call alongside Senator Amy Klobuchar, P4AD Executive Director Merith Basey, and Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk to discuss the new, lower negotiated prices under Medicare. Jackie takes Xarelto which had a 2023 list price of $517 but after negotiation will be priced at $197 in 2026 — a 62 percent price reduction. Patients fought hard to usher in this new era of lower drug prices through the reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act and as we celebrate this momentous anniversary, we recognize that while significant progress has been made, our work continues to expand these reforms so that every patient can have access to the drugs they need at prices they can afford. — (Salon, NBC Nightly News)
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Welcome to the Week in Review.
The Inflation Reduction Act Turns Two
The Inflation Reduction Act’s second anniversary marks a major milestone in the drug pricing landscape. For decades, skyrocketing drug prices have forced patients on Medicare to choose between medication and other necessities. Now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, patients on Medicare are beginning to breathe easier. The $35 insulin copay cap, which went into effect in 2023, isn’t just a number – it represents peace of mind for patients like Steven Hadfield and Bob Parant, who have seen their monthly costs plummet from hundreds to just $35. Free recommended vaccines and the cap on out-of-pocket costs at around $3,500 annually are also delivering substantial relief to seniors like Judy Aiken and Ginny Boynton, who both have faced thousands of dollars in annual out-of-pocket costs for their medicines. And even more change is now on the horizon as the $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket costs is due to take effect in 2025 and the lower prices for the first ten negotiated drugs will come into effect in 2026. The announcement of the maximum fair prices for the first 10 drugs selected for price negotiation is due in the coming days and will potentially save nearly nine million people as much as thousands of dollars per month on just one prescription alone. These drugs — including cancer treatments, blood thinners, autoimmune disease treatments, and some diabetes drugs — accounted for $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for patients on Medicare in 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act is a monumental step toward a future where every American can get the prescription drugs they need at prices they can afford and an important milestone to celebrate and to build on. — (USC, AARP, CAP, The White House
Court Watch: US v. Pharma
On Thursday, a federal judge in Ohio dismissed a legal challenge brought by the national U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a few regional Chambers of Commerce to stop successful implementation of Medicare negotiations. Judge Michael J. Newman stated that the case was thrown out because the lawsuit was filed in an improper venue, slamming the Chamber for “venue shopping” for a potentially friendly court, and found that other plaintiffs in the case lacked standing. This dismissal marked the seventh consecutive loss for the pharmaceutical industry and its allies who filed lawsuits in various district courts as part of an “industry wide strategy” to escalate these cases to the Supreme Court. P4AD’s David Mitchell, who takes Eliquis, one of the first 10 drugs selected for negotiation, set the record straight: “It’s US vs. Pharma and we are winning because the drug companies’ claims thus far have been found to lack merit on both substance and procedure. As they appeal, we will continue to fight.” — (Bloomberg Law, Politico, STAT, Reuters, P4AD)
Big Pharma Patent Gaming
Patients in the U.S. face exorbitant prices for blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs — like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro — meanwhile residents in comparable nations see list prices that are significantly lower for these same medications. The reason? Barriers to both drug price negotiation and generic competition. While most high-income countries have a variety of mechanisms to negotiate lower drug costs, residents in the U.S. face substantially higher list prices in large part because pharmaceutical corporations have rigged the system in their favor. Drugmakers exploit our patent system as part of their business model to extend monopoly periods including on GLP-1 treatments. By filing frivolous patents, including on the delivery mechanisms used to inject these drugs, they can help delay generic competition. These anti-competitive tactics, employed by drugmakers including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, mirror the patent strategy used by the very same companies to extend monopoly periods on blockbuster insulin drugs. “Just thinking about how long those companies have kept patent protection for insulin, I would imagine they have pretty substantial legal effort going into preventing generic entry for those drugs,” Professor Stacie Dusetzina told Axios when discussing the lack of competition for this emerging class of drugs. As long as these shady practices that block competition are permitted by law, patients will continue to be forced to pay some of the highest drug prices in the world for brand-name drugs. — (KFF, Inside Health Policy, STAT, Axios)
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Court Watch: US V. Pharma
A federal judge in New Jersey ruled against Novo Nordisk on Wednesday, rejecting all of the company’s arguments in its lawsuit aimed at stopping the historic Medicare negotiation program. Judge Zahid Quraishi observed that the constitutional challenges were “nearly identical” to arguments made in separate lawsuits by Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson — which he rejected in April. The court ruled against additional claims made by Novo Nordisk that Medicare negotiation violates the due process clause and separation of powers. Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drugs — Fiasp, Fiasp FlexTouch, Fiasp PenFill, NovoLog, NovoLog FlexPen, and NovoLog PenFill — are among the first 10 drugs selected for negotiation. This ruling marked the sixth consecutive loss in the pharmaceutical industry’s multi-million dollar legal campaign to stop the successful implementation of Medicare negotiation. However, the fight doesn’t stop here: several drugmakers are filing their appeals to recent rulings against their lawsuits to stop negotiations and the decisions in lawsuits brought by Merck and Novartis are still pending. To counter the drug industry’s relentless attacks on Medicare negotiation, P4AD, Public Citizen, Social Security Works, and Health Care Voices among others have now mobilized over 180,000 signatures for a petition demanding drug company executives urgently drop their lawsuits that directly oppose the interests of patients and taxpayers. — (Bloomberg Law, Endpoints, Inside Health Policy)
End Of Medicare Negotiation For First 10 Drugs
In a watershed moment for patients, negotiations between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and drug manufacturers who make the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare negotiation ended yesterday, August 1st. The new negotiated maximum fair prices are set to be announced by September 1st. The drug manufacturers received initial price offers from CMS in February this year, and since then, all have participated in the negotiation process, which involved multiple rounds of offers and counteroffers. However, while drug industry executives are now telling investors that the impact of lower negotiated prices will not significantly hurt their bottom line, seven of the manufacturers are suing to stop Medicare negotiation, claiming the program will stifle innovation. A recent analysis from Bentley University found that, despite pharma’s fear mongering around the drug price law, it will have little to no impact on the number of new drug approvals and research and development (R&D) funding. Patients played a critical role in the passage of the landmark drug pricing law that authorized Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices and eagerly await potential savings of up to thousands of dollars per medication when negotiated prices take effect in 2026. — (The Hill, Medical Xpress, Fierce Biotech, The Nevadan)
In Case You Missed It
A national poll conducted by Lake Research Partners found overwhelming bipartisan support for pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms. Eight in 10 voters support policies that would prevent PBMs from making profits based on drug prices in Medicare and over eight in 10 support ensuring that available rebates and other discounts are passed along to help seniors better afford their medicines. Reining in the shady practices of PBMs remains a top priority for P4AD and we’ll keep fighting to ensure they are operating in the best interest of patients and consumers.
Welcome to the Week in Review.
PBM Showdown In The House
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability continued its 32-month investigation into pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) with a hearing scrutinizing the middlemen’s shady practices that drive up prescription drug costs. Executives from the three largest PBMs which control 80 percent of the U.S. prescription drug market — OptumRx, ExpressScripts, and CVS Caremark — testified before legislators on the outsized role of PBMs and their anti-competitive tactics which steer patients toward their own pharmacies and prioritize higher-priced medicines. The opaque structure and secretive rebate contracts result in significant profits at the expense of patients in the U.S. who pay three to eight times more for brand-name drugs than residents in comparable nations. Prior to the hearing, the Committee released a staff report, based on over 140,000 pages of internal documents from the companies. They found more than 300 examples of the big three PBMs preferring medications that on average cost at least $500 more per claim than the lower-cost alternative medication they excluded on their formularies. With bipartisan PBM reform bills having cleared key congressional hurdles, the pressure is mounting to rein in these shadowy middlemen and deliver new savings to patients drowning in prescription costs. — (NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, House Oversight Committee, HealthCare Dive)
Drugs Corporations Rake In Profits
While patients struggle with soaring drug prices, the pharmaceutical industry continues to demonstrate robust financial health, as evidenced by the latest quarterly earnings reports. In Q2 of 2024, AstraZeneca reaped nearly $2 billion in profits, while Bristol Myers Squibb earned $1.68 billion, Novartis reported $3.25 billion, and Johnson & Johnson brought in $4.69 billion in profits respectively. All of these corporations have at least one of the drugs they manufacture selected for Medicare negotiation – a program they’re fighting tooth and nail to derail – even though the companies’ executives maintain that the program will have minimal impact on their bottom lines. We expect reports from Merck and Novo Nordisk in the coming weeks — the latter riding high on its wildly popular and overpriced diabetes and weight loss drugs. One thing is crystal clear: Big Pharma’s profit machine shows no signs of slowing and there is urgent need for the ongoing implementation of the drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act to better insulate patients from drug industry greed.
Court Watch: US V. Pharma
Last week, the pharmaceutical industry’s fight to stop Medicare negotiation intensified as special interest groups filed over a dozen amicus briefs in support of lawsuits from AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Johnson & Johnson. Over the last six years alone these special interest groups — including the Washington Legal Foundation, Manhattan Institute, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and Alliance for Aging Research — have received nearly $4.8 million from the industry’s top trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which also filed a suit against the Medicare negotiation program. But while pharma is paying for expensive lawyers, patients are fighting back. Since the lawsuits were filed last year P4AD has signed onto seven amicus briefs led by Public Citizen and supported by AARP, Protect Our Care, Doctors for America, and Families USA, and continue to rally 10s of thousands of patients and allies via a petition urging pharmaceutical CEO’s to drop their lawsuits against the historic Medicare negotiation program. We continue to amplify patient voices in the courtroom to ensure the harm of sky-high drug prices is upfront and center inside and outside the courtroom. — (Accountable.US, FightPharma.org, Public Citizen)
In Case You Missed It
Gilead Sciences is facing backlash over its highly-effective HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir. Patient advocates rallied outside of the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich this week to demand an end to Gilead’s pricing monopoly. The company’s life-saving HIV drug is priced at $42,250 per year, despite reports that the medicine could be produced for as little as $40 per person each year. Advocates are calling for global action to make this life-saving drug accessible to everyone who needs it.