Press Release Archives

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Joins the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing

Feb 3, 2016

"ASHP joins the Campaign at an important time and adds a crucial voice to our effort. Pharmacists are on the frontlines of the fight to make prescription drugs affordable,” noted John Rother, executive director of the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing. "We are thrilled to have ASHP join this effort as we seek to find market-based solutions that can reduce drug prices for consumers, providers, and the U.S health care system." Read More

Anthem and Eli Lilly Announce Collaborative Effort to Combat High Cost Drugs

Jan 29, 2016

"I am encouraged to see Eli Lilly and Anthem begin a dialogue around increasing prescription drug prices. Their collaboration illustrates the widespread effort needed to find a sustainable, market-based solution, but it is just one step on a long road." Read More

Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing Announces Communications Director

Jan 8, 2016

The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) is pleased to announce that Allison Schneider has joined as communications director. Allison will lead the Campaign’s communications efforts both inside the beltway in Washington, D.C. and with state and local media throughout the country. Read More

Patients Struggle With High Drug Prices

Dec 31, 2015

Recent treatments for hepatitis C, cancer and multiple sclerosis that cost from $50,000 annually to well over $100,000 helped drive up total U.S. prescription-drug spending 12.2% in 2014, five times the prior year’s growth rate, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. High drug prices can translate to patient costs of thousands of dollars a year. Out-of-pocket prescription-drug costs rose 2.7% in 2014, according to CMS. Read More

Drug pricing will continue to loom large in 2016

Dec 28, 2015

Of all the health care issues that loomed large this past year, none was more controversial — and compelling — than pharmaceutical pricing. Wall Street may have cheered the added revenue, but pricing strategies were increasingly under attack. Poll after poll found most Americans believe prices are too high. And more lawmakers — and presidential candidates — are listening. Read More

Prime Therapeutics Joins the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing

Dec 21, 2015

Prime Therapeutics LLC (Prime), an independent pharmacy benefit manager overseeing pharmacy benefits for health plans, employers, and government programs including Medicare and Medicaid, recently joined the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP). The coalition is a broad-based organization committed to raising awareness about high drug prices and advancing positive, market-oriented solutions to the affordability crisis caused by escalating drug prices. Read More

Rx Pricing – A Year in Review

Dec 17, 2015

Drug pricing has been a hot topic in 2015 — and what a year it has been! As… Read More

How Pfizer Set the Cost of Its New Drug at $9,850 a Month

Dec 9, 2015

Pfizer’s multistep pricing process shows drugmakers don’t just pick a lofty figure out of the air. At the same time, its process yielded a price that bore little relation to the drug industry’s oft-cited justification for its prices, the cost of research and development. Instead, the price that emerged was largely based on a complex analysis of the need for a new drug with this one’s particular set of benefits and risks, potential competing drugs, the sentiments of cancer doctors and a shrewd assessment of how health plans were likely to treat the product. Read More

Health Spending in U.S. Topped $3 Trillion Last Year

Dec 2, 2015

“This rapid increase, which was the highest rate since 2002, was in part due to the introduction of new drug treatments for hepatitis C, as well as of those used to treat cancer and multiple sclerosis,” the administration said. The new treatments for hepatitis C, which are highly effective, accounted for $11.3 billion in new spending. Read More

Daraprim Still Priced 2,500% Higher Than Original Price

Nov 30, 2015

"While the adjusted price of Daraprim is an improvement from its original price tag, it is clear that this critical treatment is still priced far out of reach for many Americans. This same medication can be purchased overseas for $.66 a pill -- a fraction of what it costs in the U.S. -- which makes us question how the pharmaceutical industry can justify their outrageous and harmful pricing strategies." Read More

Fact vs. Fiction: PhRMA’s 10% Talking Point Edition

Nov 20, 2015

PhRMA often uses “retail prescription medicines” and “prescription medicines” interchangeably in discussing the total cost of drugs to the U.S. health care system. PhRMA also makes sure to note regularly that drug spending accounts for "only 10 percent" of all healthcare spending. Read More

Drug Prices Top Concern for Iowa Voters

Nov 18, 2015

"Simply put, voters are looking for relief from astronomical drug prices and favor candidates who understand this is a pocketbook issue for American families," said John Rother, executive director of the coalition. Read More