In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump spoke about the need to lower drug prices in America, a primary focus of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) companies. In response, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association President and CEO David Marin released the following statement:

“Tonight, President Trump spoke to our shared goal of making health care more affordable. There is no greater ally in the fight for lower drug costs than PBMs. Last year, PBMs saved Americans more than $300 billion – more than a thousand dollars for every one of the 289 million Americans we serve. Just this month the president signed PBM reform into law. While we believe the innovations our companies have made in recent years make this law unnecessary, we are committed to providing robust transparency and aligning incentives to deliver maximum savings for the employers who hire us and the patients we serve. With PBM reform done, the attention of lawmakers must turn to the real causes of high drug prices.

“President Trump has been bold in taking on the drugmakers that have gamed the system to keep prices high. But now Congress must get involved. Big Pharma continues to abuse patent laws and is waging a war on generic medicines in order to avoid competition. It must be stopped. Congress should also examine the role of other participants in the prescription drug supply chain who influence prices, such as the big wholesalers. Transparency, as now congressionally mandated for PBMs, should be a priority for the entire prescription drug supply chain. We look forward to working with Congress and the administration to increase transparency and break down the real barriers to lower cost medicines in America.”