CSRXP COMMENDS HELP COMMITTEE FOR ADVANCING BIPARTISAN, MARKET-BASED SOLUTIONS TO HOLD BIG PHARMA ACCOUNTABLE

Senate Panel Passes Bills to Increase Competition and Increase List Price Transparency

Washington, D.C. –  The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released a statement today on the advancement of several bipartisan solutions that will help hold Big Pharma accountable by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).

“CSRxP commends the leadership and members of the HELP Committee for advancing bipartisan, market-based solutions that will support greater competition from more affordable alternatives and shine a light on Big Pharma’s most egregious pricing practices,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “Big Pharma companies are responsible for setting and increasing prices on their products and lawmakers must continue to focus on holding them accountable to lower prescription drug prices for patients, including by passing these solutions into law.”

CSRxP-supported legislation passed by the HELP Committee on Thursday includes:

• The Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act of 2023, introduced by Senators Michael Bennett (D-CO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME), would help increase competition for generic drugs through improved oversight of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) citizen petition process.
• The Retaining Access and Restoring Exclusivity (RARE) Act, introduced by S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would amend the FDA’s orphan drug approval process to limit abuses by Big Pharma.
• The Increasing Transparency in Generic Drug Applications Act, introduced by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Rand Paul (R-KY) will help streamline the approval process for generic drugs, which will help get more generics into the market quicker and lower prescription drug prices for patients.
• The Fair Accountability and Innovative Research (FAIR) Drug Pricing Act, introduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) would increase transparency from brand name drug manufacturers by requiring them to submit transparency and justification reports on prescription drug price increases above a certain threshold.

Read CSRxP’s letter to the Senate HELP Committee on the markup of this legislation HERE.

Learn more about how list price transparency can help lower drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.

Read more on market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower prescription drug prices HERE.