The Week in Review in Prescription Drug Pricing

Well, Kodak certainly widened its aperture this week. Welcome to the Week In Review!

1. Pattern of Profiteering

• Moderna is reportedly looking to price its potential COVID-19 vaccine at $50 to $60 per course, even after accepting nearly $1 billion in taxpayer support to float R&D. The news came a week after Pfizer announced a price of nearly $20 per dose of its COVID-19 vaccine. The companies have started a dangerous pattern of maximizing profits on the backs of Americans. — (Reuters)

2. Corporate Insiders Cash in on a Crisis

• As drug companies’ stock values have skyrocketed thanks to progress on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, pharma executives are making a killing by selling their shares. While Americans are forced to make sacrifices, drug company executives see the pandemic as an opportunity to pocket hundreds of millions of dollars. — (The New York Times)

3. Another Injection of Funding

• In the largest Operation Warp Speed contract yet, the U.S. government agreed to provide $2.1 billion for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate jointly developed by pharma giants Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline. Over half of the funding is allocated to vaccine development, and the remainder will pay for 100 million doses for the United States. Let’s say it one more time: Taxpayers are underwriting the risk of development. We deserve fair prices when vaccines come to market. — (Bloomberg)

4. Stalled Drug Pricing Discussions

• Pharma executives couldn’t be bothered to show up at a White House meeting Tuesday to discuss an executive order that would link drug prices in the U.S. to prices paid in other countries. The Trump administration should immediately advance its plans to lower prescription drug prices. We’ve already waited for too long. — (Politico)

5. We Shouldn’t Have to Worry

• A recent Gallup poll found that nearly a third of non-white U.S. adults reported a time when they or a member of their household could not afford their medications in the last year. That’s compared to just one-fifth of white adults who reported the same. That disparity amplifies the importance of addressing drug pricing for all Americans. — (Gallup/West Health) 

WASHINGTON, DC — Ben Wakana, the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement after reports that the drug industry has refused an invitation to meet with President Trump. The Tuesday meeting was called to discuss the president’s plan, announced Friday, to align some prescription drug prices in the United States’ Medicare program with lower prices paid in other countries.

“We don’t need Big Pharma’s permission to lower drug prices. The industry has had decades to self-regulate. By canceling tomorrow’s meeting, drug corporations acknowledged they have no intention of lowering drug prices now.

“The Trump administration should move forward immediately with its plan to tie U.S. drug prices to the lower prices paid in other wealthy nations.

“We hope the president will throw the full weight of his office, including upcoming executive orders, behind policies that lower the list prices of drugs for all Americans. Patients are suffering. We don’t have time to wait.”
 

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It’s been a week. 

1. Trump Issues EOs

• The president announced executive orders late Friday – like an international pricing index and Canadian drug importation – claiming that the moves would lower drug prices. The ultimate fate of the orders remains to be seen as the president plans to meet with pharmaceutical executives on Tuesday and implementation details remain in flux. — (Axios)

2. “That would be devastating for me”

• In a new video, patients from across the country make their voices heard: The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t made the issue of high drug prices go away, it has made it worse. And they deliver a message of hope and support as they call for drug pricing reform. — (P4AD)

3. It’s Apparent Now

• Pfizer signed a $1.95 billion contract with the U.S. government to produce 100 million doses of the company’s potential COVID-19 vaccine — about $20 a dose. That price is more than six times what AstraZeneca plans to charge for its vaccine. What Americans have suspected for months is now out in the open: Pfizer plans to profiteer off a pandemic. — (CNN)

4. The Pledges are PR Stunts

• At a Congressional hearing Tuesday, executives from giant drug corporations developing COVID-19 vaccines refused to promise to not profit over their coronavirus vaccines. If ever there were a time for Big Pharma to find its conscience, it would be now. Congress must take action to ensure pharmaceutical manufacturers don’t profiteer on the backs of patients in a pandemic. — (The New York Times)

5. States March Onward

• State legislatures continue to work on drug pricing bills, focusing on areas like transparency and the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers. We’re glad to see that states are setting up guardrails to defend patients from high drug prices, and we stand ready to assist in any way we can. — (FiercePharma)

WASHINGTON, DC — Ben Wakana, the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s four drug pricing executive orders. The organization previously ran a nearly $1 million campaign in support of one of those orders, HHS’s proposed International Pricing Index.

“The administration’s decision to bring drug prices in Medicare Part B more in line with what other wealthy nations pay would be a positive step if implemented. Abandoning the rule at this stage would be a capitulation to drug corporations.

“Big Pharma has had decades to self-regulate and lower list prices. Not only has it failed to do so, drug corporations continue to raise drug prices –– even in the middle of a pandemic.

“While the Trump administration’s original plan to use international reference pricing was limited — as it would only impact Medicare beneficiaries in half the country, who take certain medications, for a limited amount of time — it would help alleviate the pain of skyrocketing drug prices, and we strongly encourage the rule to be finalized.

“The goal of ridding our system of secret deals between drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers is laudable. We look forward to seeing more details of how this plan will work. In addition, we support the administration’s plans to allow importation from Canada and lower the cost of insulin and EpiPens for patients who rely on Federally Qualified Health Centers.

“We are hopeful the administration moves ahead with these executive orders and look forward to additional details.”

BACKGROUND

• Americans pay the highest drug prices in the world.
  • The New York Times: “A government study that said Medicare was paying 80 percent more than other advanced industrial countries for some of the most costly physician-administered medicines.”
  • Ways & Means Committee Analysis: “Americans pay on average nearly four times more for drugs than other countries – in some cases, 67 times more for the same drug.”
  • Axios: Americans will be forced to pay 80 percent more for Humira than patients in Europe through 2023. 
• Drug prices keep rising. 
  • CNN: “Drug makers hiked prices on hundreds of medications for 2020.”
  • Axios: “It may be a new year, but the same drugs are once again subject to the same industry practices.”
  • GoodRx on January price hikes: “So far in 2020: 639 drugs have increased by an average of 6 percent.” 
• Americans support an International Pricing Index
  • By a 71-point margin, voters supported the Department of Health and Human Services’ ANPRM to lower drug prices in Medicare Part B by implementing an International Pricing Index (80 percent support vs. 9 percent oppose), according to GS Strategies.
  • According to a January 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 87 percent of Americans believe it is very important for Congress to lower prescription drug costs.
  • “Nearly one-third of U.S. adults (30 percent) consider a candidate’s position on lowering drug costs to be ‘the single most important issue’ or ‘among the most important issues’ in influencing their vote in the 2020 election,” according to Gallup.

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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.”

The Washington Post // Yasmeen Abutaleb // July 21, 2020

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.

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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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WASHINGTON, DC — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now sent a letter to Capitol Hill this week urging Congress to focus on three topics in upcoming COVID-19 legislative packages: ensuring taxpayer investment into COVID-19 drugs is factored into prices, helping the nation prepare for future public health emergencies, and addressing the high list prices of prescription drugs as Americans struggle with the impact of the pandemic.
 
“COVID-19 did not make high drug prices go away — it worsened the crisis for patients,” the letter states. “Every dollar we pay in unjustified profits to drug corporations is a dollar we could use to support ordinary Americans whose health and economic well-being has been devastated by this pandemic. If we had unlimited resources as a nation, these choices wouldn’t matter. But we don’t.”
 
The letter, addressed to congressional leaders in the House and the Senate and signed by patients from all 50 states, calls for congressional action in three key areas:

1. Ensure taxpayers have a say in COVID-19 drug pricing. Since March, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has awarded more than $1.2 billion to the pharmaceutical industry for COVID-19 drugs — with no stipulations on fair pricing. As partners in the scientific and funding processes, American taxpayers deserve a say in the price.
2. Prioritize long-term incentives for infectious disease research over short-sighted giveaways to the drug industry. Pharma does not need new incentives to develop COVID-19 drugs. The federal government is bankrolling research, sponsoring clinical trials, and eliminating all liability for drug corporations investing in COVID-19 drugs, and the pandemic’s global impact guarantees billions of buyers. Instead, Congress should invest in and incentivize research to prevent and prepare for future infectious disease outbreaks.
3. Lower drug prices now. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the drug pricing crisis in the United States. Alongside soaring unemployment numbers, 27 million Americans could lose employer-based health insurance, exposing many of them to high list prices. Congress must take long-awaited action on drug prices immediately.

Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is an independent, bipartisan patient organization focused on policies to lower drug prices. P4ADNow does not accept funding from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.

Read the letter here.

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WASHINGTON, DC — A new campaign by Patients For Affordable Drugs Now calls on Senators to support one of President Trump’s top priorities by passing legislation to lower prescription drug prices. The multi-million dollar campaign, launched today, urges Senators to stand with patients and the President in support of the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (S. 2543) — a bill that would stop drug company price gouging and lower costs for seniors.
 
“Americans of every political stripe agree that drug prices have got to come down,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Patients are done with Big Pharma’s lies and outsized influence in Congress, and they’re ready to vote on the issue come November.”
 
The campaign is launching with two national TV ads featuring patients hurt by rising drug prices. Watch the videos, “Gail,” and “Jackie,” and read the transcripts below.
 
As part of the campaign set to run until late May, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will also release radio and digital advertisements nationally and in key states that demonstrate the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans. In addition, the campaign will commission polling, fly patients to Washington, and offer patients a suite of tools to help them contact their elected officials and demand action to lower drug prices.
 
Starting today, P4ADNow will thank Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the most recent Senator to endorse the Grassley-Wyden bill.

TV AD TRANSCRIPTS

“Jackie”
 
This is a four week supply of my chemotherapy —
It’s 20 pills, and it’s $20,000 every single month.
You know it’s hard enough thinking that I’m not going to live that long and to leave my husband alone.
But to leave him bankrupt? It’s devastating to me.
Millions of people like me are struggling — and drug prices just keep going up and up.
But now there are bipartisan proposals in Congress that would actually bring those prices down.
Mr. President, Congress, it’s time to make history.
The time is now.

“Gail”

My insulin used to cost $26 a vial.
Today, drug companies charge up to $350 a vial.
This is the same insulin formula I’ve been using for almost 30 years.
Regular middle class people like me — we need help.
Without Congressional intervention, many of us are struggling.
Many are dying.
Just because we can’t afford insulin.
Mr. President and Congress, we are counting on you. 

BACKGROUND

• Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act in July 2019.
• The bill would penalize drug companies for price hikes above inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors on Medicare at $3,100 per year.
• President Trump and bipartisan lawmakers support the bill, which passed the Senate Finance Committee in July.
• The bill could be included in a health extenders package with a deadline of May 22, 2020.

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