Marin highlighted how significant business changes, coupled with the enactment of landmark PBM reform, are reshaping the industry. He remarked that unprecedented transparency, “delinking,” and full rebate pass-through are now the law of the land:

“A lot of these things were happening already. A lot of them are self-initiated by our member companies. But a lot of them are part of a massive reform package that Congress passed earlier this year. That’s a good thing and now we can move on and shine the light on other parts of the chain that deserve the same level of transparency.”

With PBM reform now law, Marin encouraged Congress to turn to policies that strengthen competition between medicines. Specifically, he pointed to the need to address patent reform, noting that Big Pharma has kept prices too high for too long for too many:

“Now that PBM reform is done, I would hope that Congress can turn to the reality that pharma abuse of the patent system is what extends monopoly pricing for too long for too many. Forty-two years ago, Congress passed a sophisticated and thoughtful bill called Hatch-Waxman, and what it was intended to do was to create a really careful balance between the need and the desire for innovation, with the need, after a certain amount of time, for competition. That balance has been completely upset ever more over the years as they get more and more creative with how to extend their monopoly pricing.”

He also emphasized the importance of promoting transparency across other parts of the supply chain that are not well understood, including prescription drug wholesalers.

Marin closed with a reminder of the clinical services that PBMs provide, including safeguards against harmful drug interactions and adherence programs that help patients stay on track. He also commented on what our health care system would look like in a world without PBMs:

“I think drug costs today are still too high. They’d be a ton higher without PBMs.”

Watch the full interview HERE.