Fury builds over drug prices
Pharma Bro is back. In this case, it’s not a disgraced pharmaceutical executive but a drug firm looking to sell a life-saving drug for $89,000 a year, even though it’s available from overseas for less than $2,000.
It’s an example of whipsawing drug prices that are infuriating both Democrats and Republicans and leading major pharmaceutical firms to promise to curb prescription drug costs. Business-friendly President Trump is urging Congress to “work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs and bring them down immediately.”
The pressure is building in ways that could produce sweeping changes in drug pricing. Or it could tail off as a politically savvy industry promises to self-police and temper the sticker shock of recent months.
Poster child of the moment is Marathon Pharmaceuticals, which is planning to market a steroid to treat a rare muscle disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
The exorbitant price jump is jolting the families whose loved ones need the drug, primarily young boys who suffer the muscle-wasting condition. But it’s also alarming major drug firms, who are quickly rolling out numbers showing modest price increases over recent years.
It’s a damage-control effort aimed at tamping down brewing bipartisan fury over rising costs. Weeks ago, Trump opined that drug firms were “getting away with murder” via high prices. Democrats fired off a protest message to Marathon and this week introduced bills allowing consumers to import drugs from Canada at a fraction of the domestic price.
Marathon’s conduct recalls the infamous industry exec, Martin Shkreli, who bought up the rights for another rare disease drug and jacked up the cost. He was followed by Mylan’s cost boost for the Epipen allergic reaction treatment that created an uproar.
These instances are making the industry nervous. Its well-worn arguments about development costs warranting high prices won’t suffice. Though consumers often benefit from discounts and rebates, the overall U.S. health care system is getting soaked by price increases that far outstrip inflation. High deductible health plans oblige consumers to pay more on trips to the pharmacy.
Scalded by criticism, Marathon is now postponing its cost increase. It won approval under so-called orphan drug laws that offer a sevenyear monopoly to treat a rare disease. But cost and profit don’t always play a role in this federally set process, allowing Marathon to pick the price tag.
Washington shouldn’t tolerate this situation or the larger issue of inflating drug prices. Drugmakers should explain their development and marketing costs in a public, transparent way, just as they are obliged to issue safety and health warnings.
The public is tired of the name-and-shame game, which focuses anger on one bad actor and not the wider industry. Both political parties and the White House feel the same way. It could be a uniting moment in ever-feuding Washington when public health and pharmacy prices can be balanced to serve consumers.