Top 10 Drugmakers Spent $60M Lobbying Against Lower Medicare Costs Since Q1 2023, Targeting Americans with Disabilities

On April 02, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) rejected pharmaceutical companies’ price offers, “kicking off talks expected to stretch through the summer.” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said, “CMS is proud to be negotiating in good faith with drug manufacturers to lower the prices of some of the most expensive drugs for people with Medicare.” 

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)—an independent health policy research organization—estimated that 7.8 million beneficiaries on Medicare were living with a disability in 2021. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 data also shows that over 44.1 million Americans were living with at least one disability as of 2022. Leading causes of disability include neurological disease as well as rheumatoid arthritis, with arthritis generally quickly becoming a leading cause of work-related disability according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In 2021, Eliquis, Revlimid, Xarelto, Trulicity, Januvia, Jardiance, Imbruvica, Humira, Lantus, and Ozempic accounted for the majority of spending by Medicare, with just these 10 drugs costing Medicare over $46.8 billion in 2021 alone. All of these drugs are used to help patients with disabilities, including rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments impacting an individual’s quality of life. Several of these drugs, including Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, and Imbruvica were also among the first 10 drugs set to have their prices negotiated with Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act. 

A major cause of sky-rocketing drugs is drug companies’ abuse of the U.S. patent system, where seven out of the ten most expensive drugs held on average 74 patents for a single medication. One egregious example of the drug Eylea—used to treat an eye condition known as macular degeneration that affects older adults—had 90 patents on the medication, allowing the manufacturer Regeneron to charge a staggering $1,800 for a single dose. 

An Accountable.US review of drug manufacturers that make these life-saving drugs used by the disabled community shows they have collectively spent over $60 million since Q1 2023 while lobbying against the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation to lower drug prices, and reforms to the U.S. patent system. Among these are:

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is the maker of blood thinner Eliquis and cancer treatment Revlimid:

• Eliquis is used by over 3.5 million Medicare beneficiaries as of 2022 and has had its price skyrocket since its introduction into the marketplace, with BMS hiking the cost of this drug by 43% from 2017 to 2022. The blood thinner has key patents set to expire from 2027 to 2029, and has used its monopoly to sue competitors in efforts to block biosimilars from cutting into its revenue stream. In 2022 alone, Eliquis made up 25% of Bristol Myers’ sales, and is estimated to make the company $478 million in future revenue by 2032. 

• Revlimid is prescribed to at least 45,601 Medicare beneficiaries as of 2021. The drug was the center of a lawsuit brought by Mayo Clinic and LifePoint Health in October 2023 with the two alleging that BMS and its subsidiary Celgene conspired with other manufacturers to significantly delay the production of biosimilars, claiming that BMS even coerced companies in a “pay for delay” scheme to pushback generics from entering the market.

• In June 2023, BMS sued the Biden Administration over the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug negotiation provision and is a board member of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which also sued the Biden Administration in June 2023. Former BMS CEO Giovanni Caforio also wrote an August 2023 op-ed blasting the law, claiming it would “sen[d] a signal that industry should walk away from medicines for the elderly,” alleging it does not “involve any negotiation in any sense of the word.” 

• Meanwhile, Bristol Myers has spent over $9.4 million since Q1 2023 while lobbying on issues related to “implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act,” drug rebates, drug pricing, and opposing “H.R. 4895 The Lowering Drug Costs For American Families Act.”  

Johnson & Johnson is the maker of blood thinner Xarelto, which is prescribed to over 1.3 million Medicare enrollees as of 2022. Medicare spent a staggering $5.8 billion for Xarelto in 2022 alone, with the drug selected to be one of the first ten drugs to have prices negotiated with Medicare. 

• Xarelto patent holders Janssen Pharmaceuticals—a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson—and Bayer have filed lawsuits in efforts to block generics from entering the marketplace. However, an April 2024 ruling by a British court found that Bayer’s patent of Xarelto was “invalid,” a ruling that “pave[d] the way for other drug makers to launch generic versions.” A key patent for Xarelto is set to expire in 2026, according to Proclinical.

• Johnson & Johnson is also represented on the board of PhRMA, which filed a June 2023 lawsuit challenging the Biden Administration’s efforts to rein in prescription drug prices. Johnson & Johnson followed with its own suit in July 2023, becoming the third major drug manufacturer to file a suit challenging the law. 

• Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson spent over $9.5 million since Q1 2023 while lobbying on issues related to Medicaid rebates, implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and issues related to biosimilars.  

Eli Lilly and Company is the maker of Trulicity and Jardiance, both of which are used to treat diabetes:

• Medicare spent a staggering $6.2 billion for Trulicity in 2022 alone, and a key patent for Trulicity is not set to expire until 2027, according to Proclinical.

• Jardiance is prescribed to over 1.3 million Medicare beneficiaries as of 2022, with the program spending $5.9 billion for the medication in 2022 alone. The government also selected Jardiance as one of the first 10 medications to be negotiated with Medicare.

• In August 2023, nine states warned against a proposed settlement with Eli Lilly over an insulin price-fixing class action lawsuit arguing it would shield the company from future suits, before Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi walked back on the agreement.

• Meanwhile, Eli Lilly has spent over $9.6 million since Q1 2023 while lobbying against implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, S. 954 “The Affordable Insulin Now Act,” and issues related to intellectual property and patent protections. 

Merck is the maker of Januvia, which is used to treat diabetes. In 2022, 885,000 Medicare enrollees were prescribed the medication, for which Medicare spent $4.1 billion in 2022. Januvia was also selected as one of the first 10 medications set to have its price negotiated with Medicare.

• Merck won a battle over a patent that was set to expire on Januvia in early 2023 after a court sided with the manufacturer who claimed that competitors infringed on its patent. The drug maker subsequently boasted to investors that Merck expected to “maintain U.S. market exclusivity on Januvia until about May 2026.” Since Januvia was launched in 2006, Merck has hiked the drug price by 275 percent, and currently charges patients in America 5.5 times more than those in Canada and over 20 times more than consumers in Germany. 

• In June 2023, Merck filed a lawsuit challenging the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare prescription drug price negotiation provision alleging the law violated the fifth amendment and that it would lead to the government “tak[ing] Merck’s patented innovations by coercing the company to provide third parties with access.” Merck is also a board member of PhRMA, which filed its own lawsuit shortly following Merck’s initial lawsuit.

• Meanwhile, Merck has spent over $12.1 million since Q1 2023 while lobbying against the Inflation Reduction Act, “H.R. 4895 The Lowering Drug Costs For American Families Act,” “H.R. 3 The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act,” and other issues related to patent and trademark laws.  

AbbVie is the maker of cancer treatment Imbruvica and rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira:

• Imbruvica was prescribed to 22,000 Medicare enrollees as of 2022 and is set to have its price negotiated with by Medicare after AbbVie charged the program $3.2 billion for the drug in 2022 alone. It’s also one of the first 10 drugs to have its price negotiated with by Medicare. 

• Humira was prescribed to about 42,000 Medicare patients in 2020. In March 2023, AbbVie was also ordered to pay back the government after it hiked the price of Humira well beyond the rate of inflation. 

• In January 2023, AbbVie’s monopoly on Humira ended after seven drugs were set to enter the marketplace, including a biosimilar manufactured by Amgen, after AbbVie successfully filed 165 patents on the drug, which earned it a staggering $208 billion in global revenue from 2002 to 2022.

• Since Q1 2023, AbbVie has spent over $5.2 million while lobbying against S. 142 “The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act,” issues related to intellectual property, the 340B rebate program, and Medicare Part D drug negotiations, among other issues.

Sanofi is the maker of insulin medication Lantus Solostar, and charged Medicare $2.9 billion for the drug in 2022 alone. 

• In 2021, Sanofi was defeated in federal court after a patent board denied its efforts to “revive parts of patents relates to its Lantus SoloStar insulin pens,” with Sanofi accusing competitor Mylan of attempting to make a generic version of the medication, which earned Sanofi over $3 billion in sales in 2020. In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) supported an antitrust lawsuit brought by Mylan accusing Sanofi of operating a “multifaceted monopolization scheme” by abusing the patent system and submitting “invalid” and “uninfringed” patent applications to further delay biosimilars from entering the marketplace. 

• Since Q1 2023, Sanofi spent over $7.5 million while lobbying on issues related to intellectual property, Medicare negotiations and the 340B drug rebates program, among other issues impacting prescription drugs pricing.

Novo Nordisk is the maker of insulin drug Ozempic, which was prescribed to 500,000 Medicare enrollees in 2021. In 2021, Novo Nordisk charged Medicare $2.6 billion for the drug.

• In October 2023, Novo Nordisk—which became Europe’s highest valued company in September 2023—squashed a challenge by Mylan Pharmaceuticals in an attempt to begin manufacturing a generic version of Ozempic, despite a patent board agreeing to evaluate one of its patents which isn’t set to expire until June 2033.

• Novo Nordisk—who sits on PhRMA’s board of directors—filed its own lawsuit challenging the IRA’s Medicare drug price negotiation provision in September 2023 joining other companies claiming it violated the First and Fifth Amendments calling it “price controls.”

• Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk spent over $6.4 million since Q1 2023 while lobbying on insulin pricing, patent protection and IRA implementation, among other issues.