Q1 EARNINGS SHOW BIG PHARMA BOOMING WHILE AMERICAN PATIENTS STRUGGLE

Largest Drug Makers Beat Profit Forecasts While Continuing To Price Gouge Patients

Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released a statement Wednesday following earnings announcements from ten Big Pharma giants that showed they all surpassed profit forecasts for the first quarter of 2019.

Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was the latest, announcing expectation-topping quarter-one earnings Wednesday that completed the trend started by AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lily, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer and Sanofi.

“Business for Big Pharma is booming as the industry continues to price gouge American patients,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson.  “There is a clear need for action from policymakers in Washington when Big Pharma goes ten for ten beating profit forecasts at a time when one in four Americans can’t afford their medications.”

Aronson noted that in addition to banking expectation-exceeding earnings, Big Pharma is also boosting advertising and lobbying budgets.

“Big Pharma is banking forecast-busting profits and boosting spending on advertising and lobbying while evading responsibility and refusing to become part of the solution on drug prices,” Aronson noted.  “It’s time for Washington to advance bipartisan, market-based solutions to increase competition, lower prices and hold Big Pharma accountable.”

CSRxP tracked the quarter one earnings announcements from brand name drug makers and noted how each price gouges American patients to boost its bottom line in a “Big Pharma Earnings Watch” blog series.

Read CSRxP’s “Big Pharma Earnings Watch” Blog on Novartis and Johnson & Johnson HERE.

Read CSRxP’s “Big Pharma Earnings Watch” Blog on AbbVie HERE.

Read CSRxP’s “Big Pharma Earnings Watch” Blog on Bristol-Myers Squibb HERE.

Read CSRxP’s “Big Pharma Earnings Watch” Blog on AstraZeneca and Sanofi HERE.

Read CSRxP’s “Big Pharma Earnings Watch” Blog on Eli Lilly, Merck and Pfizer HERE.

Read CSRxP’s “Big Pharma Earnings Watch” Blog on GlaxoSmithKline HERE.