The US Congress released a drug pricing survey report, exposing pharmaceutical companies to manipulate prices for huge profits

According to a report released by the U.
S.
House of Representatives Oversight and Reform Committee last Friday (December 10, 2021) on the "Pharmaceutical Pricing Survey", drugmakers are targeting the U.
S.
market to make huge profits from old drugs
.

The report highlights the pricing of insulin by Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi

This report was released after nearly three years of investigation and disputes the pharmaceutical industry’s claims that high-priced drugs are needed to fund innovation and R&D programs
.

According to the report, “the committee’s investigation found that the company spent a large portion of its R&D expenditure on research aimed at expanding market monopoly, supporting the company’s marketing strategy, and curbing competition

According to the 269-page report, the three insulin companies adopted strategies to maintain monopoly pricing and resist competition from biosimilar drugs
.

These strategies include manipulating the patent system and the marketing franchise granted by the US FDA, adopting strategies to convert patients to new formulations of their products before losing the franchise, and participating in shadow pricing (increasing market prices with competitors) to maintain high prices

The different charts included in the report show that the sharp increase in the price of Novo Nordisk's insulin reflects the increase in prices of competing insulin products by Enofi and Eli Lilly over the years
.

Below is one of the charts that compares the rapid-acting insulin price increase between Humalog and Novolog

In addition, the report also pointed out that pharmaceutical companies are targeting the US market for submissions, while maintaining or reducing prices in other parts of the world
.

Part of the reason is that medical insurance cannot negotiate directly on prices

Committee Chairman Carolyn Maloney said in a statement, “What the Committee has learned disturbs legislators, taxpayers, and any American public who has been unable to afford prescriptions
.

For decades, pharmaceutical companies have been raising prices while manipulating them.

The pharmaceutical industry has long tried to avoid negotiations with medical insurance and believes that the legislation ignores the role of pharmacy welfare management and medical insurance companies as well as hospitals and other medical institutions in increasing the cost of medical care
.

The industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America (PhRMA) countered that the net price (the list price after the rebate was paid) fell by 2.

A PhRMA spokesperson stated in the letter, “This misleading report failed to address the abuse of insurance companies and middlemen who profited from a broken system and patients could not afford the medicine
.

This so-called The survey ignores the real affordability issues that people face, such as increased deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson wrote, “The information in the committee’s report reflects the limited state of our company’s and other companies’ efforts to manage prescription drug acquisition
.
” The company acknowledges the “complexity” of pricing and formulary, and Argued that "health insurance is not effective for patients with chronic diseases
.
"

Original link: https://oversight.
house.
gov/investigations/drug-pricing-investigation

https://oversight.
house.
gov/investigations/drug-pricing-investigation