PhRMA's Steve Ubl: CBO Report Makes Clear "Patients Face Future with Less Hope Under Congress' Drug Pricing Plan"

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America president and CEO Stephen J. Ubl made the following statement after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report that found policies like those included in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug pricing plan (H.R. 3) will lead to 60 fewer new treatments in the next three decades:

"The new report from CBO makes one thing clear: Patients face a future with less hope under Congress' current drug pricing plan. The report finds that even under CBO's conservative assumptions at least 60 new treatments and cures will be sacrificed if this proposal becomes reality and is further proof that patients with devastating disease could be denied access to medicines today and in the future. Members of Congress shouldn't buy the false choice that we have to have fewer life-saving treatments to lower drug costs. Instead, policymakers should work with us on real solutions like capping out-of-pocket costs in Part D, lowering cost sharing and spreading those costs over the calendar year, and making sure the savings negotiated with health plans are passed to patients. These solutions would lower costs at the pharmacy while also ensuring a future where new treatments are available for patients in need."

NOTE: Polling research by the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that 65% of voters oppose government negotiations of drug prices when they learn it could "lead to less research and development of new drugs." Additionally, an analysis from Vital Transformation found that this type of proposal would lead to a 90%+ reduction in new medicines developed by small and emerging biotechs, or 61 fewer drugs over 10 years.

About PhRMA
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies, which are devoted to discovering and developing medicines that enable patients to live longer, healthier and more productive lives. Since 2000, PhRMA member companies have invested more than $1 trillion in the search for new treatments and cures, including $91.1 billion in 2020 alone.

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SOURCE Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)