WASHINGTON — Call it Sen. Bernie Sanders' prescription drug pricing theater.
The hearing, attended by Merck CEO Robert Davis, Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato, and Bristol-Myers Squibb CEO Chris Werner, is designed to garner public attention; I did well. The board-clad hearing room in the Senate office building was standing room only, with an overflow room. Photographers flocked to take photos as Mr. Sanders shook hands with executives, as is customary before hearings begin.
Mr. Sanders' staff has been given arm training by changing foam boards behind the chairman's head, explaining how drug companies make more money from the United States on certain drugs than the rest of the world combined. It shows how he called to testify that there were many people.
But the producers lacked new ideas for ways to reduce patients' prescription drug payments, and Mr. Sanders' efforts to persuade CEOs to lower drug prices or freeze salaries were ineffective.
“Will you commit today at Bristol-Myers Squibb to reduce the list price of Eliquis in the United States to the Canadian price where it is profitable?'' Mr. Saunders asked Mr. Werner.
“Senator, we cannot make that promise because the pricing systems in these two countries are very different,” Werner replied.
The ploy did not amuse the committee's top Republican, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. “I don't want this committee to become a whack-a-mole for CEOs,” he said.
Executives moved on to familiar topics, such as blaming pharmacy intermediaries for high drug prices. They said revenue from pharmaceuticals has not increased despite the increase in list prices. They provided some hard numbers on the average discounts they offer on their expensive drugs. For example, Duato estimates that the company is offering an average 70% discount on Johnson & Johnson's anti-inflammatory drug treatment Stelara, and Davis said Merck is only keeping He said that. 10% of the list price of the diabetes drug Januvia.
The CEOs agreed that dramatically lower prices in other countries remain profitable, but argued that patients have less access to medicines in other countries' health systems.
Ahead of Thursday's showdown, Mr. Duato and Mr. Davis had sought to avoid testifying, arguing the hearing was retaliation for their companies' decision to sue the federal government over Medicare's new prescription drug price negotiation program. Ta. Each of the three companies has at least one drug involved in Medicare's ongoing first round negotiations.
However, under threat of subpoenas, Duato and Davis agreed to testify voluntarily.
The topic of the hearing was why the United States pays more for prescription drugs than other countries. Sanders brought up data on U.S. prices compared to other high-income countries such as Japan and France. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asked CEOs whether they thought the U.S. was shouldering the cost of drug innovation in other parts of the world.
CEOs and some Republican senators slammed the disparate levels of access to medicines in foreign countries. Cassidy told the story of a woman who said: traveled to the United States After being denied coverage in Canada, he was forced to pay for his cancer treatment out of pocket.
The hearing is the latest in a series of CEO showdowns by Sanders, who previously called the head of Moderna Inc. to testify about vaccine pricing and called insulin maker CEOs to discuss pricing practices. I let it happen.
At the outset, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) specifically described the mood of the day: And give us an opportunity to dignify our various subjects. ”
