WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House passed a reconciliation package that includes the ORPHAN Cures Act (H.R. 946), a pharma-backed provision that would create new loopholes in the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program — just months before the first lowered prices take effect. Patients For Affordable Drugs Now strongly opposes the inclusion of this policy, which serves the interests of drug corporations at the expense of patients and taxpayers.
“In a giveaway to Big Pharma, the House just voted to weaken one of the most effective and popular drug pricing reforms in decades — ignoring the will of nine in ten Americans who are demanding Congress do more to lower prescription drug costs,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of P4ADNOW. “By letting high-cost drugs with multiple orphan uses avoid negotiation and extending the timeline before negotiation for other medications, lawmakers have handed pharmaceutical corporations a new and unnecessary way to protect monopoly pricing — all while 1 in 3 Americans can’t afford their medications.”
Despite industry claims, the ORPHAN Cures Act does nothing to advance innovation. The 2022 prescription drug law already safeguards orphan drug development incentives. Instead, this bill keeps U.S. prices high while other nations pay far less. According to the CBO, the bill would cost taxpayers at least $5 billion over the next 10 years — a massive giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of patients.
P4ADNOW patient advocates have mobilized in opposition to this bill, sending thousands of letters to Congress urging its rejection. The fight is not over — the reconciliation package now heads to the Senate, where P4ADNOW will continue working to protect patient savings and block harmful industry carveouts.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
P4ADNOW urges Congress to Reject The Pharma-Backed Bill and Protect Key Drug Pricing Reforms
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the ORPHAN Cures Act (H.R. 946) through their markup. This legislation, driven predominantly by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies, would create an unnecessary loophole in the Medicare Negotiation Program — allowing even more drugs to avoid price negotiation, including those indicated for multiple rare diseases — right before the first round of negotiated prices take effect in January. Patients For Affordable Drugs Now urges Congress to stop progression of this harmful bill.
“The overwhelmingly popular Medicare negotiation program is on the verge of delivering savings to nine million patients, and the last thing patients and the taxpayers need is a new loophole for the pharmaceutical industry to exploit,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of P4ADNOW. “The Orphan Cures Act is yet another industry handout designed to protect corporate monopolies while undermining widely popular drug pricing reforms and overdue relief for patients”
An orphan drug designation applies to a treatment for conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. However, many drugs with multiple orphan indications reach much larger patient populations and are highly profitable for pharmaceutical manufacturers. The industry has spent millions of dollars misleading patients by falsely claiming that allowing multi-orphan drugs to remain eligible for price negotiation will harm innovation. The reality is the 2022 prescription drug law maintains all existing incentives for the development of orphan drugs, and only a small percentage of drugs approved for more than one orphan disease gross over $200 million under Medicare each year, the threshold for negotiation eligibility. Instead, the ORPHAN Cures Act will ensure prices are kept artificially high, unjustly undermining the victories that patients fought for.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Patients For Affordable Drugs Now Executive Director Merith Basey issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s new Executive Order (EO) on drug pricing:
“We completely agree with President Trump that Americans shouldn’t be paying the highest drug prices in the world for the exact same brand-name prescription drugs. And we broadly support international reference pricing — including ‘Most Favored Nation’ style policies — that, if well designed, could help rein in inflated drug prices and deliver savings for patients.
This Executive Order is a step in the right direction, but without additional guardrails, it leaves room for pharmaceutical companies to continue gaming the system at the expense of patients. The reality is: drug companies set high prices in the U.S. because U.S. policy lets them – unlike other high income countries that negotiate lower prices.
With nearly nine in ten Americans demanding lower prices and greater accountability from drugmakers, the administration can pursue an even better deal, in line with other high income nations, including through the popular Medicare Negotiation program.
While outstanding questions remain, P4AD is committed to working to ensure this executive order is implemented in a way that delivers lower drug prices for patients. We’ll continue to monitor implementation closely and urge the administration to stay focused on patient-centered reforms that hold the true driver of high drug prices accountable: drug corporations.”
BACKGROUND
Several aspects of the EO raise immediate questions:
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) and AARP sent a joint letter to key House committee leaders opposing The EPIC Act (H.R. 1492), a bill that would delay when Medicare can negotiate lower prices on small-molecule drugs. The letter urges Congress to reject the measure, which would weaken the historic Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and cost patients and taxpayers billions in higher drug prices.
“Congress should be building on the success of Medicare negotiation in line with what the American people are urgently demanding — not actively undermining it,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “The EPIC Act would delay lower prices, prolong high costs, and hurt the very people this program was designed to help. If lawmakers want to align exemption periods, they should support reducing the negotiation exemption period for biologic drugs to match that of small molecules — not hand the drug industry a $10 billion giveaway and four more years to price-gouge patients.”
The joint letter highlights that under the proposed legislation, more than half of the drugs already selected for Medicare negotiation would not have qualified, including widely used treatments like Eliquis, Jardiance, and Ozempic. It also points out that shortening the timeline for biologics, rather than extending the delay for small molecule drugs, could save billions of dollars — a win for both patients and the federal budget.
Polling shows overwhelming bipartisan support for Medicare drug price negotiation, with 67% of voters supporting expansion of the program to all drugs covered by Medicare. Yet pharmaceutical companies are lobbying hard to gut the program through legislative changes like the EPIC Act, falsely claiming that earlier negotiation will hurt innovation. In fact, small-molecule innovation has remained strong since the passage of the 2022 prescription drug law, and American taxpayers already fund the majority of early-stage drug development.
Read the full letter here.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
PREVAIL and PERA Bills Would Undermine Reforms, Extend Monopolies, and Keep Drug Prices High
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now strongly opposes the reintroduction of two harmful patent bills — the PREVAIL Act and the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act — which would further enable abuse of the patent system and prolong monopolies on brand-name medications.
“These dangerous bills would further rig the patent system in favor of the pharmaceutical industry,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “At a time when one in three Americans can’t afford their prescriptions, Congress should be working day and night to lower prices, but instead, Senators Tillis and Coons are siding with Big Pharma and helping the industry further entrench its power at the expense of patients”.
While nearly 90% of Americans say prescription drug prices are too high — and more than 9 in 10 voters across party lines believe Congress must act to lower them — these proposals move in the wrong direction. Today, 29 million Americans are considered “cost desperate,” struggling to afford the medications and care they need. Yet instead of reining in Big Pharma, Congress is poised to expand its power — even as nearly two-thirds of voters view pharmaceutical companies unfavorably and see them as one of the top drivers of high health care costs. A full 78% of voters believe drug companies are focused on profits, not patients. Advancing these bills would not only undermine popular reforms but also stifle competition and hand even more control to an industry voters know is rigging the system against them.
BACKGROUND
P4ADNow supports the following patent reform bills;
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
Senate Bills Take Aim At Drug Industry Tactics That Block Competition And Keep Prices High
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now welcomes two bipartisan bills to curb some of Big Pharma’s abuses of the patent system in a renewed effort to lower prescription drug prices. The Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act (S. 1041) targets patent thicketing, a tactic pharmaceutical companies use to block lower-cost biosimilars from entering the market. The second bill, newly introduced S. 1040, would prohibit product hopping, a shady practice drugmakers deploy to direct patients to a new brand-name drug to avoid facing generic competition.
These legislative reforms are critical steps to reducing pharmaceutical industry abuses that delay competition and drive up costs, helping to bring more affordable alternatives to market and reducing prescription drug prices for millions of Americans.“For too long Big Pharma has rigged the system in its favor,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of P4ADNow. “These bipartisan bills take direct aim at the pharmaceutical industry’s exploitation of our patent and regulatory systems — systems they manipulate to inflate drug prices and extend monopolies, costing patients and taxpayers billions every year. This is corporate greed at its worst and patients are paying the price. With nine out of 10 Americans demanding further action from Congress to rein in high drug prices, the Senate must advance these bipartisan measures and prioritize patients over the insatiable greed of pharma and their lobbyists.”
In the 118th Congress, these reforms were originally introduced as one bill under the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. However, during markup, the product hopping provision was removed, allowing the remaining patent thicketing portion of the bill to advance and ultimately pass the Senate unanimously in July 2024. The patent thicketing bill was also included in a reintroduced health care package last week by Senators Sanders and Wyden. Now, in the 119th Congress, these reforms have been introduced by Senators Cornyn, Blumenthal, Grassley, and Durbin as two separate bills.
BACKGROUND
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
Bipartisan Measures Aim to Curb Big Pharma’s Greed, Lower Drug Prices for Americans, and Save Taxpayers Billions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now applauds the reintroduction of key bipartisan drug price reforms that were left out of the end-of-year package in 2024 due to last-minute political maneuvering. A health package that includes these measures was reintroduced this afternoon by Senators Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden.
These reforms represent an urgent opportunity to lower prescription drug prices by tackling the pharmaceutical industry’s shady tactics, anti-competitive practices, and patent abuses that keep more affordable generics off the market at the expense of patients and taxpayers.
“Congress now has a second chance to address one of the most pressing needs of Americans: lowering prescription drug costs,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of P4ADNow. “The reintroduction of these reforms is a necessary step toward ending the unchecked greed of industries that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. With nine out of 10 Americans demanding Congress do more to lower drug prices, P4ADNow is calling on Congress to act swiftly to pass these measures and prove that their priority is lowering costs for Americans – not caving to corporate interests.”
The reintroduced package includes:
In July 2023, P4ADNow launched the “Push for Competition to Lower Drug Prices” campaign to highlight the harmful impact of Big Pharma’s anti-competitive practices. The campaign included digital ads, an online advocacy hub, and videos urging Congress to pass bipartisan bills like S.150 and Q1/Q2 to promote generic and biosimilar competition. Over the last 20 months, key efforts by patients and advocates have included:
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following a narrow Senate vote, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was confirmed today as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
P4ADNow Executive Director, Merith Basey, released the following statement:
“Secretary Kennedy has a critical opportunity – and responsibility – to build on existing measures to rein in Big Pharma’s price-gouging and lower drug costs for patients. We are ready to work with him to ensure Medicare drug price negotiations continue, out-of-pocket costs are reduced, and competition in the marketplace is increased through reforms to end abusive pharmaceutical monopolies that harm patients.
“But make no mistake: patients fought hard to secure the 2022 prescription drug law, and we will fiercely oppose any efforts to weaken it. We stand ready to help make America healthy again by making prescription drugs affordable. Nine out of ten Americans think lowering prescription drug costs should be a top priority – and they are counting on Secretary Kennedy to deliver.”
Background
—During back-to-back confirmation hearings, RFK Jr. provided limited details on plans to lower drug prices and defend Medicare negotiations — a critical issue for millions of American families.
—Americans pay three to eight times more than people in other wealthy nations pay for the exact same brand-name drugs.
—In 2023, about three in 10 adults reported not taking their prescription medicines due to the high cost.
—84% of voters on both sides of the aisle support allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with big drug companies over the prices of some drugs to bring down costs.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.