Plus, An Important Policy on Interchangeability
Big Pharma has a lot of tricks to drive higher profits. The Trump Administration isn’t fooled.
PCMA applauds the Trump administration’s 2027 budget request that includes giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more authority to crack down on direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers spent nearly $14 billion on DTC advertising in 2023 alone. Not only do these ads drive them toward more expensive drugs and mislead patients, but taxpayers lose more than $1 billion each year in tax revenue as pharmaceutical companies write off these marketing expenses to further pad their bottom line. A recent study raised serious concerns about the balance between benefits and potential harms in DTC advertising on social media, only underscoring the need for the FDA to step in.
Giving the FDA clear authority to crack down on ads that lack fair balance or create a misleading impression is common sense and helps ensure patients receive accurate, trustworthy information about their treatment options.
The budget would also allow pharmacists to substitute biosimilar drugs for brand-name products. Blocking interchangeability, which means pharmacists aren’t allowed to substitute a lower cost drug in place of the expensive brand drug, is a Big Pharma trick that costs patients and the health care system billions.
Treating all FDA-approved biosimilars as interchangeable would break down unnecessary barriers to competition. Allowing pharmacists to substitute biosimilars without added red tape would expand patient access to safe, effective alternatives and help lower costs in some of the most expensive areas of care.
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) do everything they can to encourage the use of biosimilars and generics and prefer them ahead of more expensive brand-name drugs. No other country in the world requires the interchangeability designation, and this proposal is a simple fix that will deliver real savings for patients.
These proposals are important steps and we urge Congress to go even further by addressing the patent abuse tactics drugmakers routinely use to block competition and keep prices high.
