Press Releases
Sen. Klobuchar, Watchdog, and Patient Advocates Discuss Lowering Drug Costs, New Report on Big Pharma Price-Gouging Patent Tactics
WASHINGTON, DC — With the second anniversary of the Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act approaching and its cost-lowering Medicare drug price negotiations nearing the finish line, today Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joined Patients For Affordable Drugs for a briefing hosted by government watchdog Accountable.US to discuss lowering drug costs for everyday Americans and how big drug companies have stood in the way of lowering prices. WATCH THE FULL BRIEFING HERE.
The cost of prescription drugs is simply too high. For too long, big drug companies have put their profits ahead of the well-being of millions of Americans who need life-sustaining medications. That is why I have worked for years to end the big drug companies’ sweetheart deal that artificially raised prices at the expense of our seniors. I’ll keep fighting to make sure that all Americans can access the medications they need.”
— Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
During the call, Accountable.US released a new report, “Patent Gouging,” revealing how the producers of the first 10 medications up for negotiation in the Biden-Harris administration’s historic Medicare negotiation program have exploited patent laws—using tactics like pay-for-delay agreements, evergreening, patent thickets, and product hopping—to prolong exclusivity and keep prices high for seniors and other patients. READ THE FULL REPORT.
Even though the companies hold the patents, one study found that the federal government spent a combined $11.7 billion on basic and applied research that led to the development of these drugs.
For too long, big drug companies have used every trick in the book to charge patients and seniors more. Despite taking billions of taxpayer dollars for drug development, these Big Pharma companies unleashed an army of patent attorneys to keep life-saving medicine exclusive and more expensive for seniors and other patients. This is part of a pattern and patent abuse isn’t the only problem. When the Biden-Harris administration made it possible for Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs, the industry flooded our courts, defending their practice of charging U.S. patients the highest prices in the world, claiming that the sky was falling – often while boasting about their record profits."
— Tony Carrk, Accountable.US Executive Director
Carrk continued, “Pharma lobbyists and lawyers continue insisting innovation depends on price-gouging seniors, even though the industry’s investment in R&D pales in comparison to their spending on politics, lobbying, and advertising,” he continued. “This is a stark reminder that big pharma won’t put seniors and other patients ahead of their profits without Medicare’s historic new authority to regulate their greed. Let’s be clear: allowing Medicare to negotiate is game-changing. It alters the trajectory of drug pricing in the U.S. and begins to break the monopoly power of big drug corporations to dictate the prices of brand-name drugs to people in this country. It marks a shift to reforming the system in order to make it work for the people it is supposed to serve – patients – rather than the people who profit from it,” said Patients For Affordable Drugs Executive Director Merith Basey. “The passage of this law would not have been achieved without tireless advocacy from hundreds of thousands of patients and allies. Their dedication to sharing their lived experiences made it possible; they are the force behind these reforms. As we celebrate the second anniversary of this landmark drug price law this week and anticipate the announcement of Medicare’s first negotiated price reductions, we remain committed to pushing for even greater reforms to benefit patients nationwide.”
