Big Pharma Is Massively Overcharging Americans

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Highlights

id590520039

Take Januvia, a once-daily pill from Merck that helps lower blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. A 2019 report from House Democrats found that Januvia was priced at $15.70perdoseintheUnitedStates,orroughly1,020percenthigherthanininternationalmarkets,whereitcostjust$1.40 on average. NovoLog, an insulin made by Novo Nordisk, is priced at $37.30perdoseintheUnitedStates,or440percentmorethanthe$6.90 that it costs in other countries, according to the report. Stelara, an injection from Janssen used to treat Crohn’s disease and severe plaque psoriasis, costs $16,600perdoseintheUnitedStates,or360percentmorethanthe$3,585 that it’s priced at elsewhere. Another drug on the list, Xarelto from Johnson & Johnson, prevents blood clotting to reduce the risk of stroke. Xarelto’s domestic gross retail price was $15.70perpill,accordingtoa2021[report](https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-282.pdf)bytheUSGovernmentAccountabilityOffice.That’s575percenthigherthanthe$2.30 it is sold for on average in Australia, Canada, and France. Entresto, a drug from Novartis used to treat heart failure, retails in the United States for $9.20perpill,or230percenthigherthanthe$2.82 it’s sold for in Australia, Canada, and France, per the report. AbbVie’s Imbruvica, used to treat blood cancers, retails for $158 per pill in the United States, more than double what it costs in those countries.

✏️ Examples of the price discrepancies between US- and internationally-sold drugs. 🔗 View Highlight

id590520090

The United States spends $45 billion annually on the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which in turn goes to fund new drug research. Every drug that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for sale between 2010 and 2019 benefited from research funded by the NIH, according to a 2020 study from the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Because the United States so heavily subsidizes R&D, reducing profits on top drugs by 15 to 25 percent would have a negligible effect on the number of new drugs introduced over the next decade, according to a 2021 study from the federal, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

✏️ Heavily subsidized R&D by taxpayers.. lowering their profits will not affect new R&D, no matter what they say. If anything, they’ve historically spent more on stock buybacks and dividends than on R&D. 🔗 View Highlight