'Eye-Popping Rip-Off': Americans Pay Nearly Double Rest of World Combined for Top Meds

[CousinIT]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/09/30/eye-popping-rip-americans-pay-nearly-double-rest-world-combined-top-meds

As public health advocates fumed over efforts by right-wing congressional Democrats to water down prescription drug pricing reforms proposed in their own party's flagship Build Back Better package, a report published Thursday by a leading progressive advocacy group revealed that Americans are paying nearly twice as much for the 20 bestselling medications as the rest of the world combined.

The Public Citizen report, entitled United We Spend, compares U.S. revenue from the top 20 "blockbuster" drugs to global sales figures as reported by pharmaceutical companies in their annual U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, or foreign equivalents.

According to the analysis, U.S. sales of the top 20 medications totaled $101.1 billion in 2020, while sales of the same drugs totaled $57 billion in the rest of the world.

The report found that "drugs with significant sales revenue disparities include Gilead Sciences' HIV medication Biktarvy, which had U.S. sales revenue five times greater than the rest of the world; AbbVie's autoimmune disease drug Humira, which had U.S. sales revenue four times greater than the rest of the world; and Eli Lily's Type 2 diabetes drug Trulicity, Roche's multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus, and Amgen and Pfizer's autoimmune disease drug Enbrel, all three of which had U.S. sales revenue more than triple the rest of the world."

Rick Claypool, a Public Citizen research director and co-author of the report, said Thursday that "this eye-popping rip-off Big Pharma is getting away with is an insult to the American people."

"Empowering Medicare to push back against inflated drug prices is the responsible and commonsense way to stand up to the industry's greed—which, certain members of Congress should be reminded, lawmakers in both parties have been promising to do for years," Claypool added.

BUT,
Kyrsten Sinema, heavily lobbied & handsomely paid by PhRMA has BLOCKED legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiation lower drug prices.

[CousinIT]

1. 'Let Them Know How You Feel,' Voters Urged as Pharma-Backed Dems Tank Drug Cost Plan

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/09/30/let-them-know-how-you-feel-voters-urged-pharma-backed-dems-tank-drug-cost-plan

Supporters of drug pricing reform expressed alarm Wednesday at efforts by right-wing congressional Democrats—including some of the biggest recipients of Big Pharma campaign contributions—to water down progressive-led efforts to lower the world's highest prescription medication costs.

Mirroring key items on Big Pharma's wishlist, corporate Democrats are taking aim at proposed drug pricing reforms in the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better budget reconciliation package. According to Politico:

Lawmakers, aides, and lobbyists close to the process said the leaders are now discussing making fewer drugs subject to government negotiation, and shifting the benchmark for such talks away from prices paid in other developed nations. Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Wednesday that he's in talks with House members who are insisting the bill be "sensitive to innovation" in the drug industry, and he suggested that the negotiated prices may be limited to Medicare and not apply to the private market or employer-sponsored plans, as progressives originally sought...

It's a coup for the pharmaceutical industry, which has spent tens of millions more on lobbying than any other industry so far this year.

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), one of the leading House Democrats working on drug pricing reform legislation, told The Washington Post that the federal ban on Medicare drug price negotiation is "one of the biggest ongoing scams that we tolerate at the expense of the American people."

[Irish_Dem]

2. Now we know the clear reason why. Corrupt leadership giving us rule by the powerful and wealthy.

[KT2000]

3. Everything in America is a financial instrument

in its most brutal callous way. End stage capitalism - cannibalism.

[msongs]

4. they spend a fortune on tv ads. every msnbc viewer must be on death's door nt

[zipplewrath]

5. It's our world wide subsidy

The rest of the world can negotiate these prices because the US market will generate all the profits that the companies "need". If we got the same "deal", the rest of the world would pay more. We're probably over subsidizing, but there is an underlying reality here. It's a bit like how I pay more for health insurance to ensure that those that can't afford it, still can get it. The real issue is how much the companies "need"?

[dalton99a]

6. There should be a special place in hell for pharma executives and their whores in Congress.

[Crunchy Frog]

7. They'll never reform drug pricing in this country because the lobby is simply too powerful.

But it's okay because most Americans don't know how sucky they have it.

[Hoyt]

8. Negotiating clearly makes sense. However, even the report admits that

“Differences in revenue may reflect differences in volume of drugs consumed.”

US docs write a lot of prescriptions, and patients demand them under heavy advertising pressure.