In case you missed it, The Wall Street Journal reported this week that a Big
Pharma-supported policy, included in recently passed tax legislation, is likely
to cost seniors and taxpayers far more than previously estimated.





 

August 8, 2025



TOPLINE



In case you missed it, The Wall Street Journal reported
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this week that a Big Pharma-supported policy, included in recently passed tax
legislation, is likely to cost seniors and taxpayers far more than previously
estimated. Big Pharma’s rider in the package was based on a bill called “The
Optimizing Research Progress Hope And New (ORPHAN) Cures Act.” While
purportedly meant to protect and foster pharmaceutical innovation, this
misguided legislation would help brand name drug manufacturers keep prices high
on a whole category of their products.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) previously estimated this pharma-backed policy would cost seniors
and taxpayers $4.8 billion in higher prescription drug spending. But according
toThe Wall Street Journal, “The true tally of the new provisions could be far
higher because CBO missed certain drugs such as Keytruda. The office plans to
re-evaluate its analysis.”



Keytruda, which generated $8 billion in sales for its manufacturer Merck in
the second quarter of this year alone, provides a case study in Big Pharma’s
egregious pricing and anti-competitive practices. Already patent-protected in
the U.S. until 2028, Merck is working to further extend monopoly pricing and
undermine competition from more affordable alternatives beyond 2028, by seeking
a new formulation and additional patents. According toresearch
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from I-MAK, Merck has already filed for 129 patent applications on Keytruda –
more than half of which were filed after the drug’s initial approval by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I-MAK estimates Americans will spend
at least $137 billion on Keytruda while the drug faces no competition due to
its extended exclusivity that already totals more than eight years — without
reflecting the added impact of the Big Pharma giant’s new patent strategy.



As the full impact of Big Pharma’s loophole for high-priced blockbuster drugs
comes to light, Congress should act to protect seniors and taxpayers from
billions of dollars in higher prescription drug prices by repealing these
harmful provisions. Read the full report inThe Wall Street Journal HERE
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.



QUOTES OF THE WEEK



“The Senator [Cornyn] has two bills introduced that were both reported
unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year, and have
been for multiple Congresses, that would tackle two particular bad behaviors
that, in the Senator’s view, impede this increased access to generics and
biosimilars. The first is the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act which
would target the use of patent thickets in the patent dance… The second bill
that Senator Cornyn has is the Drug Competition Enhancement Act. This bill
addresses another particular behavioral issue. This is an antitrust issue
called product hopping.”



Franci Rooney Becker, Chief Counsel to Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), U.S. Senate
Committee on the Judiciary
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DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW



$5.6 Billon



The gross Medicare spending
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on Johnson and Johnson melanoma treatment Darzalex last year, another brand
name product likely to be exempt from solutions to lower drug prices for
seniors and taxpayers as a result of a recently passed pharma-backed policy,
according toThe Wall Street Journal
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.



TWEETS OF THE WEEK



@ACEJointHealth <[link removed]>:
“What good is a breakthrough medication if you can’t afford it? Patent
manipulation can keep medication prices high. For patients who can’t afford
them, high costs force many to skip or ration their medication.”



@Capitol_Forum <[link removed]>: “The
U.S. pays more for drugs because pharma companies abuse the patent system to
block generics. @IMAKglobal 's report shows: 150+ patents on Ozempic Over $50B
in delayed competition Generics enter years earlier in Europe.”



ROAD TO RECOVERY



STAT News: Trump Escalates Demands That Pharma Companies Lower Their Drug
Prices
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President Trump escalated his demands that pharma companies lower U.S. drug
prices in line with what other countries pay, sending letters to 17 major drug
companies Thursday that called on them to take actions by Sept. 29.



The New York Times: Trump Demands That Drugmakers Lower Some Of Their U.S.
Prices By September
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President Trump on Thursday sent letters to 17 of the world’s biggest
drugmakers demanding that they reduce some of their U.S. prices to the much
lower levels they charge other wealthy countries by late September.



NBC News: Trump Gives Drugmakers 60 Days To Slash Prescription Drug Prices
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President Donald Trump sent letters to more than a dozen major drugmakers
Thursday demanding that they lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S.
within 60 days.



PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS



The Wall Street Journal: Why Drug Prices For Some Big Medicines Will Remain
High For A Longer Time
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Thousands of Medicare recipients will have to wait longer to get some price
relief on the expensive cancer drugs they depend on for treatment, while others
might not get any reprieve at all. Two little-known provisions in the One Big
Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Trump in July will delay Medicare price
negotiations for some of the biggest-selling drugs in the world, including
Merck’s Keytruda, which is used to treat cancer and had $17.9 billion in U.S.
sales in 2024. Other drugs, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex, will be
excluded entirely.



STAT News: The Murkiness Of Drug Companies’ Price Transparency Reports
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Over the past decade, pharmaceutical companies have released carefully curated
“price transparency” reports that make it appear the prices of their medicines
are barely increasing — or even going down. But the reports disclose no pricing
information about specific drugs, manipulating the reality of how much
Americans spend on prescription drugs.



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