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Will Laws to Lower Drug Prices Harm Innovation? The Evidence Says No.

Drug makers claim high prices are necessary to support new drug development and innovation, but research shows that public investment in drug research and development combined with large industry profits leaves manufacturers room to lower prices while continuing to innovate.

Drug manufacturers have brought new vaccines to market in record speed to stop the spread of COVID-19. That notable achievement was made possible by massive financial investments from the public. More than $19 billion in government funding has been invested in the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. In total, the United States has guaranteed purchase of 900 million doses for a population of approximately 330 million and assumed financial risk so manufacturers don’t have to.

Even companies that did not accept federal funding for research and development have benefited from previous taxpayer-funded research. The Pfizer vaccine contains a publicly-funded, government-developed spike protein technology that rapidly accelerated its development process.

Taxpayer-funded research for each of the 356 drugs approved by the FDA in the last decade totals $230 billion. Despite taxpayers’ investments in drug development, manufacturers face few restrictions on what they can charge for these drugs in the United States.

Public funding is not unique to vaccines though. The drug industry relies heavily on public funding for all forms of drug development. Taxpayer-funded research for each of the 356 drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in the last decade totals $230 billion.  Despite this level of public investment in drug development, manufacturers face few restrictions on what they can charge for their drugs in the United States despite taxpayers’ investments.

As a result, drug prices are on average 2.5-times higher in the United States than comparable countries, even though those countries also contribute considerably to research and development (R&D) costs. High drug prices in the US market have generated substantial profits for the pharmaceutical industry. Between 2008 and 2018, the profitability of pharmaceutical companies was almost double that of other large, public companies.

Despite the significant amount of taxpayer funding, pharmaceutical industry officials argue that high drug prices reflect the cost of R&D and the risk associated with developing a new drug. However, high US drug prices exceed what is necessary to fund R&D. For example, drug manufacturers Amgen, Biogen, Pfizer, and Teva generated more than double their global R&D budgets from excessive US prices, and three companies covered or nearly covered all of their research spending through high US prices on their top-selling products alone:

  • AbbVie’s Humira (an immunosuppressant);
  • Biogen’s Tecfidera (treats multiple sclerosis); and
  • Teva’s Copaxone (an immunomodulator that treats multiple sclerosis).

Two of these drugs – Humira and Tecfidera – appear on the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s 2020 list of drugs that have prices increases unsupported by new clinical evidence.

With little action on drug prices from the federal government, states are considering new ways to control drug spending, and lawmakers have filed more than 200 bills this session, including bills with the potential for real impact on prices. Five states have introduced the National Academy for State Health Policy’s (NASHP) model legislation to establish international reference rates to bring prices in line with Canadian rates, which could result in savings ranging from 60 to 85 percent. Three states have introduced NASHP’s model legislation that fines pharmaceutical manufacturers whose drug price increases are unsupported by new clinical evidence – including Humira and Tecfidera cited above – based on the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s research.

As states ramp up their efforts to address excessive drug prices, the industry continues to argue that lower prices would harm innovation. Trail-blazing states can be reassured, however, that there is room for manufacturers to lower prices while still maintaining their profit margins and preserving their capacity for innovation.

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