Inside STAT: Pharma lobbyists flooded Maryland to block a drug-pricing bill. Opponents pushed back — and won

MARYLAND STATE CAPITOL BUILDING (JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Advocates pushing for lower drug prices are reveling in the Maryland legislature’s passage of a first-of-its-kind law: Lawmakers voted this week to create a state board that, beginning in 2022, can attempt to cap payments for ultra-expensive prescription drugs. Barring a veto from the state’s Republican governor, the decision to enact a “drug affordability board” is the latest encouraging sign for the national movement to reign in high medication costs. But getting to this point was no easy task. For one, industry representatives threatened lawmakers with lawsuits and statewide medicine shortages if the bill passed. Get the inside story on how the advocates overcame a massive PhRMA-funded lobbying blitz from STAT’s Lev Facher here.