At Hearing with Big Pharma CEOs, Senator Murray Makes Clear: "Lifesaving Drugs Don't Do Anyone Any Good If People Can't Afford Them"

"When you say you're in the business of saving lives and curing disease, you have to think about putting patients over profits…lifesaving drugs don't do anyone any good if people can't afford them."

A survey of adults in Washington conducted in August 2022 found that half of respondents were worried about affording the cost of prescription drugs, and roughly one in four reported rationing medication due to cost.

Sky-high drug costs are forcing many people, including in my home state of Washington, to choose between filling their prescriptions and paying for other things they need, essentials like groceries or rent. And I often talk to people who are skipping their prescriptions altogether because they can't afford it--and it puts their life at risk. So, I really believe that Congress does need to do more here--I have for a long time--and I also think that pharmaceutical companies also need to do much more to put patients first.

But when you say you're in the business of saving lives and curing disease, you have to think about putting patients over profits…lifesaving drugs don't do anyone any good if people can't afford them,

Mr. Duato, your drug company makes a product to treat arthritis, Stelara. It costs $79,000 annually here in the U.S.--$12,000 in France. Mr. Davis, your company makes a drug to treat cancer, Keytruda… annually the cost here is $191,000--$44,000 in Japan. And Mr. Boerner, your company makes a drug, Eliquis, to treat the risk of stroke that costs $7,100 in a year [here] and $770 in Germany. So… you think that the same prescription drugs sold around the world work better here in America? Or we're getting something more for it?

Do you set the list price?

What people are paying in this country is absolutely unreasonable--and the drug manufacturers set those astronomical prices. These sky-high costs cannot continue, and everyone should understand that the Inflation Reduction Act was not the end of the road--not by a longshot. Most people agree that Medicare ought to be able to negotiate lower drug prices--it's just common sense, it saves seniors and taxpayers a lot of money. The Inflation Reduction Act took an important first step--but I and many others want us to build on that progress and make more prescription medications more affordable, and even sooner. Congress is going to keep pushing for reforms to lower prescription drug costs--I hope that much is clear."

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