Writing for STAT News, BIO’s President and CEO Jim Greenwood teamed up with Bay City Capital’s David Beier to define for policymakers the very best strategy for tackling the affordability of pharmaceuticals.
“As policy professionals from different sides of the aisle, we believe there is a right way to address these issues and a wrong way. The right way will reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients, improve access to new medicines, and allow the United States to remain the global leader in medical innovation,” Greenwood and Beier write. “The wrong way leads to price controls, weakened intellectual property protections, and restricted access to medicines. The wrong way will also stifle innovation and do little to make drugs more affordable.”
The authors notice that two proposals being mentioned on Capitol Hill would do way more hurt than good.
“These concepts, referred to as obligatory licensing and worldwide reference pricing, are counter-productive and antithetical to the very best pursuits of sufferers. They fail the important thing take a look at that any drug pricing proposal ought to have to move, specifically, whether or not sufferers who are suffering from illness shall be higher off. The United States develops more new medicines than the remainder of the world mixed exactly as a result of we reject authorities value controls and assaults on mental property.”
Greenwood and Bier urge policymakers to undertake a greater strategy.
“Rather than pursuing policies that will destroy innovation and harm patients, let’s adopt responsible reforms that make a meaningful difference in the lives of all patients by reducing their out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs and improving access to innovative medicines,” Greenwood and Beier conclude. “There are numerous ideas available to help do just that, such as removing regulatory barriers to value-based pricing and capping what seniors must pay for medicines in Medicare. We know what the right approach is for lowering prescription drug costs. All we need is for our elected policymakers to take it.”
Read the complete piece in STAT News here.
