Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) member companies today announced their commitment to providing more transparency about medicine costs to help patients make more informed health care decisions. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements from PhRMA member companies will soon direct patients to information about medicine costs, including the list price of the medicine, out-of-pocket costs or other context about the potential cost of the medicine and available financial assistance. In addition, the biopharmaceutical industry will launch a new platform that will provide patients, caregivers and providers with cost and financial assistance information for brand-name medicines, as well as other patient support resources.
Leadership at PhRMA member companies agree that this is an important step toward creating a health care system that works better for patients:
- “Since 2016, Allergan has been focused on enhancing our patient assistance programs and working with policy makers and payers to facilitate access to our medicines. The new PhRMA DTC principles will give patients and consumers easier access to information that will help them understand how much they might pay for their medicines, and we view them as a natural extension of our social contract with patients.” - Brent Saunders, chairman and CEO, Allergan
- “As the first company to include messages about our affordability programs in all of our DTC TV advertisements– if you can’t afford your medication, AstraZeneca may be able to help - we believe this action is a natural extension of our existing access and affordability commitment to patients. And we are pleased to see all PhRMA member companies agree to move in this direction.” - Ruud Dobber, president, AstraZeneca US and executive vice president, North America
- “Today’s announcement is an important step in increasing price transparency and helping patients understand how the industry works to promote access to medicines through patient assistance and affordability programs. At Bristol-Myers Squibb, we believe patient affordability is a critical issue for our healthcare system and we are committed to transparency and improved access to ensure that our innovative medicines are available to patients.” - Giovanni Caforio, chairman and CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb
- “Lilly is proud to join our peers in this new commitment to improve transparency of the costs of medicines, both the list price of medicine and expected patient out of pocket costs. Direct to consumer advertising is an important way to create awareness about new medicines and therapeutic breakthroughs. Now our ads will also include helpful information about the expected costs of those medicines. While greater transparency is one step forward, we need to accelerate our work to lower the out of pocket costs for medicine at the pharmacy counter. We know many Americans who pay for insurance or are eligible for a federal program still struggle to pay for their medicine. We are committed to working with stakeholders across the health care system to find more solutions.” - Dave Ricks, chairman and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company
- “We recognize that there is significant concern about the cost of healthcare in the US – and medicines in particular. We believe that more transparency around relevant and contextual information on cost throughout the entire healthcare system is in the best interest of patients. Today’s announcement by the pharmaceutical industry is a step in the right direction and aligns to GSK’s core value of Transparency.” - Jack Bailey, president, US Pharmaceuticals, GSK
- “Transparency is an important step towards a more sustainable, results-based health system that delivers greater access to care at a more manageable cost. This belief inspired us to release our annual Janssen U.S. Transparency Report, beginning in 2017, continuing our legacy of leadership in responsible pricing and transparency. We are proud to stand with PhRMA as we commit to providing patients with meaningful and relevant information about the cost of their medicines. Today’s announcement marks another important milestone as we strive towards a healthcare system that ensures greater access to medicines for patients today and continued breakthroughs for patients tomorrow.” - Joaquin Duato, vice chairman of the executive committee, Johnson & Johnson
- “Novartis supports the DTC advertising principles put forth by PhRMA. This is another step forward to ensuring patients have all the information they need to understand their out of pocket costs to make the most appropriate and informed decisions about their prescription medicines.” - Vas Narasimhan, M.D., CEO, Novartis
- “Novo Nordisk has supported pricing transparency to help patients make better informed healthcare purchasing decisions. By signing onto the revised DTC principles, we are taking another step in our commitment to transparency. We hope the information we provide gives those seeking treatment a better understanding of the price of medication and how that may impact them. We will continue to collaborate, listen and take action because we know there is more to do across the healthcare system to meet peoples’ expectations for affordable medicines.” - Doug Langa, executive vice president, North America Operations and president, Novo Nordisk Inc.
- “Sanofi has been a leader in responsible pricing by implementing one of the industry’s most progressive and comprehensive pricing policies and by providing programs to help patients access their medicines. We are pleased to join these significant efforts to provide information and resources to help address the affordability challenges many people face in accessing important medicines. While there is more work to be done with all those involved in the healthcare system, we believe this is a step in the right direction.” - Olivier Brandicourt, M.D., CEO, Sanofi
Read more about this new approach to DTC advertising here and here.
