CSRxP Statement On PhRMA’s DTC Advertising Announcement

Oct 15, 2018

The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) issued the following statement in response to PhRMA’s announcement today on changes member companies are making to their direct-to-consumer television advertisements:

“PhRMA’s ‘big announcement’ today is a joke since drug pricing can already be found online. The solution is simple and has bipartisan support: providing real and direct drug pricing transparency in advertisements. Any approach that does not include the actual price of drugs in the advertisement is unacceptable and does not pass the laugh test.”

Background

The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) is a nonpartisan coalition of organizations committed to fostering an informed discussion on sustainable drug pricing and developing bipartisan, market-based solutions that promote competition, transparency and value to improve affordability, while maintaining patient access to innovative prescription drugs. Our members represent organizations including consumers, hospitals, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, employers, pharmacy benefit managers and insurance providers.

CSRxP has long supported increased transparency in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, including the disclosure of the list price of the drug being advertised, in order to give consumers the information that they need to make informed decisions.

CSRxP proposed this policy in 2016, recognizing the fact that DTC advertising has the potential to lead to over utilization of high-cost drugs.
CSRxP issued strong support for the administration’s decision to require drug makers to disclose prices in DTC advertising.
CSRxP sent a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urging the inclusion of the DTC advertising amendment, sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley, in the Senate’s Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, which would provide the necessary funding for the provision.
CSRxP applauded Senate action and sent a letter urging the U.S. House to include the provision in the final bill.

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