Susan Collins
A year-long investigation into abrupt prescription drug price increases led by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) culminated in a report released on Wednesday that found drug companies have used a monopoly business to inflate prices.
Collins, the chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the committee’s ranking member, launched the bipartisan investigation in 2015 in response to reports of drug companies acquiring decades old, off-patent drugs and then raising the prices suddenly at the expense of patients.
“The skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs affect every American family, particularly our seniors,” Collins said. “This report is the culmination of the Senate Aging Committee’s year-long, bipartisan investigation into the egregious price increases on a number of decades-old drugs acquired by pharmaceutical companies that act more like hedge funds.”
Turing Pharmaceuticals, Retrophin Inc., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Rodelis Therapeutics were the focus of the investigation, which encompassed three hearings with testimony from health policy experts and clinicians.
The report details the impact of investors on drug price increases, gauges the impact of price hikes on patients and outlines potential policy responses.
“The hedge fund model of drug pricing is predatory, and immoral for the patients and taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill — especially for generic drugs that can be made for pennies per dose,” McCaskill said. “We’ve got to find ways to increase competition for medicines and ensure that patients and their families aren’t being gouged.”
The report suggests enacting the Increasing Competition in Pharmaceuticals Act, which Collins and McCaskill introduced to promote competition to address regulatory uncertainty, small markets and factors that limit generics.
The report also recommends allowing highly targeted and temporary prescription drug imports to provide fast price relief, and to take steps to curb the misuse of patient assistance programs and co-pay coupons. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission should be encouraged to take stronger enforcement action on drug company mergers and operations.