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WASHINGTON, DC — Several of the largest pharmaceutical companies will release their final 2023 quarterly earnings reports this week amid the industry’s campaign to block Medicare’s new authority to negotiate directly with manufacturers for lower prices on Rx drugs. This week’s earnings come after the Biden administration announced last month that price hikes on 64 Rx drugs outpaced inflation, adding to the burden faced by 3-in-10 Americans who say they cannot afford life saving medicine.

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We continue to see the same Big pharma CEOs suing to stop the Biden administration from lowering drug costs turn around and boast of higher revenues after overcharging seniors. Only an industry consumed with greed could think life saving medicines should have no price limit.”

Accountable.US President Caroline Ciccone.

First up this week, Pfizer reported $14.25 billion in Q4 revenue, beating Wall Street expectations after finalizing its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen Inc. in December. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has complained that negotiating with Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions is akin to “negotiation with a gun to your head,” arguing that the loss in profits will force companies to “be very careful where and how much they invest in research.” 

Last week, analysis from government watchdog Accountable.US revealed Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s (PhRMA)—which represents Pfizer alongside several of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the United States and spent millions to combat the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug negotiation provisions—gave $530,000 in donations to right-wing fringe groups intimately involved with the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project, Project 2025. Project 2025 advisory board members have fought against expanded voter access, while often parroting the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Despite industry objections, the Inflation Reduction Act is expected to save nearly 19 million seniors and other Medicare Part D enrollees $400 a year by 2025. 

 

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