CSRxP: BIG PHARMA’S EGREGIOUS GLP-1 PRICES AND ANTI-COMPETITIVE TACTICS UNSUSTAINABLE FOR PATIENTS AND U.S. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

HELP Committee Hearing an Opportunity to Highlight Staggering Cost Implications of Big Pharma’s Patent Abuse and Price-Gouging on Blockbuster GLP-1 Products

Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released a statement Tuesday ahead of a hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) examining the high price of blockbuster GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss drugs manufactured by Novo Nordisk.

“The staggering cost implications of Big Pharma’s egregious pricing practices and anti-competitive tactics around GLP-1s are unsustainable for American patients and the U.S. health care system,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “Brand name manufacturers like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly set egregiously high prices and have already hiked prices at rates outpacing inflation on GLP-1 medications in their portfolio.”

“At the same time, Big Pharma has blocked competition in the market by deploying a tried-and-true patent abuse playbook to GLP-1s for weight loss that are effectively older diabetes medications repackaged for a different indication, enabling manufacturers to extend periods of exclusivity and keep prices high,” Aronson continued. “We commend the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) for holding this important proceeding to highlight manufacturers’ egregious pricing practices on these products and the implications for patients, taxpayers and the health care system. We encourage members of the committee and lawmakers in both chambers of Congress to advance bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable.”

Read more on how Big Pharma is applying a playbook of price-gouging and blocking competition honed on diabetes drugs to a new category of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss HERE.

Read more on how Big Pharma’s high-priced GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss products and expensive cell and gene therapy treatments are expected to increase costs for employers HERE.

Read about how Big Pharma is utilizing device patents to build patent thickets on GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss drugs HERE.

Read about how Big Pharma’s egregious prices on GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss drugs are leading to unsustainable costs for the health care system HERE.

Learn more about market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.