(Washington, D.C.) — The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) today announced a new ad campaign calling on drug companies to lower prices on prescription drugs.
View the campaign website here: Lower the List Price
“Make no mistake, America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) want lower list prices on all drugs for every patient. It is well past time for drug companies to stand up and be accountable for the fact that they and they alone set and raise the sticker prices on their products,” said JC Scott, president and CEO of PCMA. “PBMs are working every day to reduce drug costs for patients and the employers and plan sponsors providing pharmacy benefits. Our campaign is a reminder that addressing affordability starts with and requires drug companies to do the right thing: Lower the List Price.”
The first ad in the campaign, “Shell Game,” will begin airing in the Washington, D.C. market this week.
Big Pharma sets the price, hikes the price, and blocks competition to keep prices high.
- In 2023, drug companies launched new U.S. drugs at prices 35 percent higher than the previous year.
- Big Pharma increased the price of 556 drugs in just the first week of 2024, with a median increase higher than the rate of inflation.
- A recent analysis found that Big Pharma’s price increases on five top-selling drugs cost U.S. patients and the health care system $815 million in 2023, despite a lack of innovation to justify those price increases.
- Across brand drugs, pharma list prices are 422 percent higher in the U.S. than in other countries.
Learn more about how drug companies set high launch prices and watch a PCMA Research Shorts video HERE.
###
PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit companies. Pharmacy benefit companies are working every day to secure savings, enable better health outcomes, and support access to quality prescription drug coverage for more than 289 million patients.
