October 6, 2025
TOPLINE
If you saw the recent opinion piece published in The Washington Post from PhRMA President and CEO Steve Ubl, you’ll have recognized the classic rerun of Big Pharma’s deflection playbook, filled with empty promises and grand pledges meant to deflect responsibility and dodge accountability for high prescription drug prices.
PhRMA, of course, does not acknowledge rapidly rising launch prices being set by brand name manufacturers on new products, years of egregious and unjustified price hikes outpacing inflation, especially on blockbuster medications, or the litany of anti-competitive tactics deployed by Big Pharma to undermine competition from more affordable generics and biosimilars.
Instead, PhRMA falls back on its usual finger-pointing at others in the drug supply chain, with claims about the industry’s commitment to the American people they continue to price-gouge thrown in.
Delivering effective, lasting relief for American patients from out-of-control prescription drug prices must hold Big Pharma accountable. Read more HERE.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“We’re going to be tough on this…Drug companies spend 20 percent to 25 percent of their budgets on marketing and ads. I’d like them to spend that money on lowering drug prices for everyday Americans.”
U.S. Food & Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary
DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
$20.2 Billion
The amount of savings biosimilars generated in 2024 alone, according to a recent report from the Association for Accessible Medicines.
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
@IMAKglobal: “Merck is launching a patent-protected injectable version of Keytruda before biosimilars of the IV version of Keytruda enter the market. The scheme, known as a “product hop”, will effectively allow Merck to restart its patent monopoly on Keytruda just as the 20-year monopoly on the IV version comes to an end. This is blatant abuse of the U.S. patent system. Swipe to see reactions to the recent @nytimes story on Merck's product hop.”
@Runaway_Rx: “Noticed a lot of #BigPharma ads recently? We’re guessing the answer is yes. 20–25% of Big Pharma’s budget goes to annoying flashy marketing and ads, when instead they could be lowering drug prices. Read more from @l_e_whyte and @AlyssaLukpat in the @WSJ. #TheProblemIsThePrice https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/trump-executive-order-cracks-down-on-pharmaceutical-ads-90022b78?mod=author_content_page_1_pos_10”
ROAD TO RECOVERY
Law360: DC Circ. Won't Stop FDA From Approving Entresto Generic
The D.C. Circuit on Friday shot down Novartis' attempt to block the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a generic version of its most lucrative drug, the heart disease medication Entresto. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. had argued MSN Pharmaceuticals' product didn't meet the labeling requirements needed to have a drug certified as a generic, but the D.C. Circuit disagreed in a new opinion. MSN started selling its generic drug in August. Much of the dispute revolves around so-called skinny labels, which is a generic drug label that leaves off any indications of the reference drug that still have patent protection. However, the drugs with carved-out labels must be just as effective and safe.
PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS
Inside Health Policy: AAM: U.S. Could Miss $234B In Savings If Competition Barriers Remain
A new report from the generic drug lobby warns consumers and patients could lose $234 billion in total health care savings over the next 10 years unless policymakers eradicate barriers to generic drug and biosimilar access, such as outdated regulatory hurdles that slow the development and market entry, patent practices commonly used by brand drug companies to delay to competition and extend market monopolies, formulary practices that incentivize preferred treatment for expensive brand drugs, and unintended consequences of Inflation Reduction Act placed upon generic and biosimilar medicines.
Bloomberg: Pharma Is Pushing $200,000 Cancer Drugs When Cheaper Doses May Work
Three hours inland from Chennai, India, traffic crawls on a half-finished road past rice fields and cow crossings until it reaches a newer complex of neat white buildings. Among them is the cancer wing of a hospital founded over a century ago by American missionaries. By morning, the line of people waiting to be seen at Christian Medical College Vellore’s Ranipet Campus snakes from the parking lot to the front door. In a basement treatment room one day in May, several of those who’ve made it inside sit in beds getting an intravenous drip of a Bristol Myers Squibb Co. drug called Opdivo or a competing Merck & Co. drug, Keytruda. A single infusion might cost at least $7,000 at the standard dose in the US, and a year’s treatment more than $200,000. Here, by financial necessity, most of the patients are getting as little as one-sixth of that.
###
