P4ADNow Applauds Unanimous Senate Passage Of Bill To Curb Patent Thicketing, Urges Swift House Action To Lower Drug Prices
Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023 Will Increase Competition And Drive Down Prices Of Rx Drugs For All Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a major step forward for patients and consumers, the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023 (S-150), to curb abuses of the patent system by tackling Big Pharma’s patent thicketing of biologics to increase competition in the drug market and lower prescription drug prices for millions of Americans of all ages.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) hailed the unanimous Senate passage of S-150 as significant progress toward ensuring all Americans can access the drugs they need at prices they can afford. The organization launched its push for competition to lower drug prices in July 2023 by uplifting the voices of thousands of patients who are calling for reforms from Congress to curb drug companies patent abuses that extend their monopolies to block generic and biosimilar competition.
“Today’s Senate action is another important victory for patients that can pave the way for House action and full Congressional passage of this bipartisan bill this year,”said Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “This bill begins to strike at the heart of Big Pharma’s patent abuses that have kept U.S. drug prices artificially high for far too long. The overwhelming bipartisan support for this reform through unanimous consent proves that when patients demand change, our legislators listen. We are grateful to the tireless advocacy from thousands of patients, their families, and allies as well asSenators Cornyn and Blumenthal for their leadership and Senators from both parties who stood against pharmaceutical industry pressure and voted to put patients first.”
“Today’s Senate action has brought us closer to tangible savings for all Americans at the pharmacy counter. And now our message to the House is clear: let’s finish the job. We are continuing to mobilize patient advocates to ensure S-150 becomes law. Americans pay the highest prices in the world for their medications and are counting on swift, decisive action by the House of Representatives to lower their drug costs.”
Today’s bipartisan victory in the Senate was only achieved because of patient advocates who shared their lived experiences, making it possible to reach policymakers in Washington. Patients sent over 27,000 letters and made over 30,000 calls to Congressional offices demanding legislators to pass a package of bills to rein in pharmaceutical patent abuses and ensure patients get the drugs they need at prices they can afford.
“Accessing the medications that I need, at the quantities that I need them, could become easier and more affordable if more competition was allowed to enter the market,” said Jacquie Persson, a patient advocate from Waterloo, Iowa who struggles to afford the medication she needs to manage her Crohn’s disease. “I wouldn’t have to ration or stress about prior authorization approvals if I had access to more affordable options with the same result.”
P4ADNow extends its gratitude to the lead sponsors and key supporters of this crucial legislation, including Senators Cornyn and Blumenthal for their leadership on the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023. We also commend Senators Klobuchar and Grassley for their tireless efforts in pushing for drug pricing reform. Additionally, we recognize Senator Durbin for his continued advocacy and for holding the May Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Big Pharma’s anti-competitive tactics and Senator Graham for his vocal support during the hearing where he emphasized the need to bring these bills to the floor for a vote.
BACKGROUND
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Patients for Affordable Drugs NOW, is the only national, bipartisan 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 does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now Responds To Federal Trade Commission’s Scathing Report On Pharmacy Benefit Managers
FTC Confirms PBMs Inflate Drug Costs, Harm Patients
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) issued the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) bipartisan interim staff report on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs):
“It will come as no surprise that the FTC’s report confirms what patients have long suspected: the largest PBMs wield significant control over which drugs are available for patients and at what price,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “While PBMs were designed to benefit patients, in reality, they exploit their power to inflate drug costs. We commend the FTC for its report and ongoing investigation into these harmful practices.”
“Make no mistake, while PBM reform is urgently needed to bring true transparency to the PBM black box to lower drug prices for patients, Big Pharma should not be excluded from the narrative. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans cannot afford their prescription drugs largely due to drug companies’ abuses of the patent system and their ability to set and raise drug prices with impunity. P4ADNow remains committed to system-changing reforms that prioritize patients over Big Pharma and PBMs profits.”
Key findings from the report reveal:
P4ADNow supports reforms aimed at increasing transparency and curbing anti-competitive practices of PBMs, including key provisions in the Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability Act (S. 2973) for its transparency requirements, the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act (S 3430) for its reporting provisions, as well as the Lower Cost, More Transparency Act (H.R. 5378), aiming for reforms that prioritize patients and consumers.
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Patients for Affordable Drugs NOW, is the only national, bipartisan 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 does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW Founder and Cancer Patient David Mitchell Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee On Need For Patent Reforms To Lower Drug Prices
Calls For Closing Loopholes Exploited By Drug Companies, Restoring Patent System’s Intent To Spur Innovation Not To Block Competition
WASHINGTON, D.C. — David Mitchell, founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW and a patient with a rare incurable cancer, will testify at 10 AM today before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee about the anticompetitive tactics used by pharmaceutical companies to extend drug monopolies and keep prices high for patients in the United States. Watch the testimony for the “Ensuring Affordable & Accessible Medications: Examining Competition in the Prescription Drug Market” hearing.
Mitchell will emphasize the urgent need for bipartisan reforms that strike the right balance between ensuring patents reward true innovation while facilitating timely competition to make prescription drugs affordable for people whose lives depend on them.
In his testimony submitted to the committee, Mitchell highlighted how pharmaceutical companies manipulate the patent system to extend their monopolies and block lower-cost generic and biosimilar competition from entering the market, rather than incentivizing genuine innovation as the laws intend. He pointed to strategies like product hopping, patent thicketing, pay-for-delay deals, and misuse of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) citizen petitions as prime examples of Big Pharma’s tactics that reduce competition and keep prices higher for longer. Mitchell voiced strong support for a package of bipartisan bills in the Senate that rein in these abuses and close loopholes that drugmakers exploit at the expense of patients. By tackling anticompetitive practices, the reforms would realign incentives to spur innovation while better facilitating timely market entry to drive down prices consistent with the will of Congress.
As someone battling an incurable blood cancer, Mitchell knows firsthand the importance of innovation for developing new, life-extending treatments. “I care deeply about innovation and new drug development. My life depends on it. Without innovation, I will die sooner than I hope to,” he shared in his testimony. “That is not a plea for sympathy – it’s just an unfortunate fact.”
His testimony also highlighted the stories of other patients struggling with high drug costs, such as Judy from Maine who was initially skeptical but relieved when her Enbrel copay went from over $2,000 to $0 thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, and Samantha from West Virginia who has been in recovery for 10 years but has to pay $800 for a 90-day supply of Suboxone for opioid addiction treatment. His testimony also shared that Beatel from Minnesota saw the price for 40mg of cholesterol drug Tricor skyrocket to $1,800 per month after joining Medicare at 65 but found the pharmacist could provide the same 80mg dose using 160mg tablets for just $40 since that larger dose was off-patent. And lastly, John from Baltimore, who is also battling multiple myeloma, pays $990 per pill for the cancer drug Revlimid that his insurer refuses to cover, leaving him feeling “hijacked” and at the mercy of the manufacturer’s assistance program – a situation he says is “scarier than the disease itself.”
Key highlights from the testimony include:
You can find the full written testimony linked HERE.
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Patients for Affordable Drugs NOW, is the only national, bipartisan 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 does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.
In response to President Biden’s comments in his State of the Union address about the historic drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act and the forward-looking proposals he announced to further reduce drug prices, Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“Tonight, President Biden highlighted the monumental drug price reforms achieved through the Inflation Reduction Act, a cornerstone of his agenda and an issue that is overwhelmingly supported by the American people who are tired of being ripped off by pharmaceutical companies to the detriment of their lives and livelihoods.
“The enactment of the historic drug price reforms, coupled with the President’s proposal to more than double the number of drugs subject to Medicare negotiation and expand cost-saving measures to millions of people on private insurance, would be transformative toward ensuring that everyone in the U.S. can access the drugs they need at prices they can afford.
“This landmark legislation is a testament to the relentless efforts of patients. While we are already witnessing the impact of some of these reforms to lower drug prices, we continue to hear from patients burdened with high drug prices who are desperate for relief. On behalf of patients, we will continue to advocate for policies that protect and expand on the drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act, dismantle Big Pharma’s abuse of the patent system, and make drugs more affordable for all who need them.”
P4ADNow patient advocate, Steven Hadfield, was a guest of First Lady Jill Biden in her box during the State of the Union this evening. Steven, who is 71 and a longtime resident of North Carolina, takes Januvia for his diabetes, which is one of the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare negotiation. He is also living with blood cancer and despite being in his 70s, cannot retire due to the price of his medications. He shared the following statement:
“’For far too long, big drug companies have made a fortune while patients like me live in constant fear, wondering how we’ll pay for our medicine. The Inflation Reduction Act has been a lifeline, reducing my insulin costs from $400 to $35 per month. Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices offers hope for millions of patients like me. Less expensive drugs would finally allow me to rest more often or hopefully help me transition from working full-time to working part-time. I am honored to be a guest of First Lady Jill Biden during the State of the Union as President Biden advocates for lower drug prices. He understands that drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them.”
BACKGROUND
The historic Inflation Reduction Act is lowering prescription drug prices and reducing out-of-pocket costs for millions of people in this country.
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Patients for Affordable Drugs Now, the C4 arm of P4AD, is the only national, bipartisan patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We help educate and mobilize patients in support of legislation to fix our broken system. P4ADNOW does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of drugs.
Today, the Biden Administration announced proposals to more than double the number of drugs to be negotiated by Medicare and expand the $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drugs to people on private insurance – extending savings to an additional 189 million people not on Medicare.
The proposal also includes a $2 cost-sharing limit for specific generic drugs such as statins and beta-blockers for people on Medicare Part D, improving access to cell and gene therapies, starting with addressing sickle cell disease, a condition that affects more than 100,000 people in the United States, and extending requirements for drug companies to pay rebates when their price increases exceed the rate of inflation.
Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, responded to the proposal with the following statement:
“These proposals would expand on the historic progress already being made as a result of the drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act. For two decades, Americans have been held hostage by a system preventing the United States government from negotiating for lower drug prices on behalf of patients. These proposals would build upon hard-won victories and represent another step forward for patients and advocates in our ongoing fight to ensure that every person can get the drugs they need at prices they can afford. As we continue to hear from patients every day who are being forced to make impossible choices between skipping their medication or paying their bills —the urgency of this fight has never been more apparent.”
Americans pay 3-8 times more than other high-income nations for brand-name prescription drugs, and over 90 percent of voters from across the political spectrum said lowering prices should be an important or top priority for Congress. This announcement on the eve of President Biden’s State of the Union address, signals the Biden Administration’s commitment to prioritizing lowering drug prices in the coming year.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now Founder Sets The Record Straight On Key Incentives For Innovation In Historic Drug Price Law Ahead of Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Hearing
David Mitchell, founder of Patients For Affordable Drug Now and a patient with a rare incurable cancer, urged Congress not to bend to drug industry scare tactics and fear-mongering and not to weaken provisions to lower prices in the Inflation Reduction Act. He made his remarks in an expansive 21-page statement submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, ahead of tomorrow’s hearing focused on legislative proposals related to rare diseases.
Mitchell’s statement sets the record straight regarding the Inflation Reduction Act’s impact on small-molecule drugs. He refutes with real-world evidence, claims from the pharmaceutical industry that investments in small molecules would lag following the passage of the law and underscores the importance of safeguarding orphan drug incentives while preventing pharmaceutical industry abuse.
Drawing from his own experience as a rare disease patient, Mitchell highlights how the Inflation Reduction Act effectively addresses both innovation and affordability concerns. “I care deeply about innovation and new drug development. My life depends on it. Without innovation, I will die sooner than I hope to. That is just an unfortunate fact,” he wrote. “The Inflation Reduction Act restores balance to move us in the direction of fair prices and profits while still getting the innovation we need.”
David’s statement also highlights the stories of two patients, Sue from Wilmington, Delaware, and Cheryl from Louisville, Kentucky. Sue is living with a form of blood cancer and takes Imbruvica, which costs $18,000 a month. After insurance, she pays the first $8,000 in 2-month copays and then $1,000 a month thereafter. At 76 years old, Sue is working full-time to afford this medication, but because of the Inflation Reduction Act, she will save between $12,000-$14,000 this year with the out-of-pocket cap phasing in at the catastrophic level. Cheryl requires inhalers, like Trelegy, but because of the price, she often goes without until she has a bad episode. The $350 to $800 price tag per month presents a significant financial burden for Cheryl, who emphasized the absurdity of such costs for essential medication needed to breathe every day. Their experiences shed light on the urgent need for lower drug prices to ensure access to vital treatments for all patients.
Key highlights from the statement underscore the law’s profound impact on innovation and affordability:
You can find the full written statement HERE. David will also be available for interviews and to comment on tomorrow’s hearing. To schedule please reach out to Emma Sands at [email protected]
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The Ads Tell Constituents That After Vowing “To Stand Up To Drug Companies,” Don Davis Is “the Lone Democrat Willing To Weaken Medicare’s Power To Negotiate Drug Prices”
Washington, D.C. – Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) today began running a series of TV ads to inform constituents in Congressman Don Davis’ district (D-NC1) that he has reneged on his campaign promise regarding prescription drug pricing. Congressman Davis pledged he would “stand up to drug companies.” Instead, Davis has become the only Democrat in the House of Representatives to sponsor legislation that would undermine Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices, a wildly popular provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that is supported by more than 80 percent of voters and would lower drug prices for millions of people on Medicare.
His betrayal of his promise to patients comes after he accepted tens of thousands of dollars from drug companies including Gilead, Astellas, Genentech, Bayer, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, GSK, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, AbbVie, and Eli Lilly.
“Voters overwhelmingly support Medicare negotiation to lower prescription drug prices,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “The voters in Congressman Davis’s district need to know that he reneged on his campaign promise to stand up to drug companies and is sponsoring legislation that, if enacted, would weaken Medicare’s ability to negotiate and lead to higher prices for roughly 90 percent of the drugs Americans need.
P4ADNow has heard from dozens of patients within Congressman Davis’s district who are struggling under the weight of high drug prices. One constituent revealed the heartbreaking reality of having to forego essential medications despite being insured, simply due to financial strain. Another shared the daily struggle of managing a chronic disease while grappling with the prohibitive cost of medications, often relying on the goodwill of friends for assistance. Additionally, a third constituent’s plea for affordable access to life-saving heart medications for her husband underscores the urgent need for Congressman Davis to honor his campaign promises and prioritize the well-being of his constituents over corporate interests.
These personal stories serve as an important reminder of the human toll of high drug prices and the critical importance of Medicare negotiation to alleviate the burden for millions of Americans.
The ads–which can be viewed here and here–will be broadcast across local television and digital platforms starting February 13th.
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CMS Takes On Big Pharma And Makes First Offers To Manufacturers Of The First Ten Drugs Selected For Drug Price Negotiation To Lower Prices For Prescription Drugs
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, applauds the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as it takes the huge next step towards negotiating fair prices for essential medications. Today, CMS sent out its initial fair pricing offers to pharmaceutical manufacturers for the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare negotiations.
The 10 drugs chosen were identified as the top spending drugs covered under Medicare Part D without generic or biosimilar equivalents that have been on the market for at least seven years and also meet other selection criteria. These essential medications include cancer treatments, blood thinners, autoimmune disease treatments, and some diabetes drugs. Between June 2022 and May 2023, 8.3 million Medicare Part D enrollees used one or more of these medications. With 84 percent of voters backing Medicare negotiations, it’s clear CMS is doing work that is urgently demanded by the American public.
Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, released the following statement:
“Patients For Affordable Drugs Now stands firmly in support of Medicare negotiation and efforts to curb the unjustified costs of prescription medications. We hear from patients everyday who are grappling with the crushing weight of exorbitant drug prices, forced to make impossible decisions between their health and financial well-being. We’ve listened to stories of people rationing insulin or other life-sustaining medications just to make ends meet. By advancing this process of direct negotiation with drug companies, CMS is helping ensure that fewer people will have to make these tough choices. Drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them, and today marks a historic milestone in the fight to lower drug prices for everyone.”
Background in Medicare negotiations:
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