BIO isn’t happy with the tenor in Washington
I joined a small group of reporters Monday for a sit down with BIO’s newly minted leadership as well as the group's CEO, former Rep. Jim Greenwood. And one thing was resoundingly clear: The group isn’t happy with the way things are going in Washington.
“The industry is misperceived,” said Dr. Jeremy Levin, BIO’s new chair. “We're the worst perceived entity [in America] … And that's ridiculous. If I can, I'm going to save every single child with Angelman's, I'm going to cure every single one I possibly can. What's bad about that?” (Levin also serves as the CEO of Ovid Therapeutics, which is developing drugs to treat the rare disease known as Angelman syndrome.)
And the BIO team didn’t mince words about many of the biggest drug pricing policies being considered in Washington. Greenwood said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing plan would “extinguish” hope for patients, because it would chill biotech investment. (The plan hadn’t been released at the time of Greenwood’s remarks.)
He also called the Senate Finance Committee's plan to cap drug price increases at the rate of inflation “a terrible policy.” (By the way, Greenwood said that after speaking to staff for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, he believes the bill will be included in an end-of-year spending package ... so cancel Christmas plans, folks!)
BIO also really doesn’t like President Trump’s plan to tie what Medicare pays for drugs to what other countries pay — but he isn’t so sure the administration is serious about it.
“It's really almost impossible to do,” Greenwood said. “And I would say that, reading between the lines, there's been an acknowledgment from some folks in the administration about this, which is why they have basically taken the position, ‘Show us something better.’”
“The industry is misperceived,” said Dr. Jeremy Levin, BIO’s new chair. “We're the worst perceived entity [in America] … And that's ridiculous. If I can, I'm going to save every single child with Angelman's, I'm going to cure every single one I possibly can. What's bad about that?” (Levin also serves as the CEO of Ovid Therapeutics, which is developing drugs to treat the rare disease known as Angelman syndrome.)
And the BIO team didn’t mince words about many of the biggest drug pricing policies being considered in Washington. Greenwood said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing plan would “extinguish” hope for patients, because it would chill biotech investment. (The plan hadn’t been released at the time of Greenwood’s remarks.)
He also called the Senate Finance Committee's plan to cap drug price increases at the rate of inflation “a terrible policy.” (By the way, Greenwood said that after speaking to staff for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, he believes the bill will be included in an end-of-year spending package ... so cancel Christmas plans, folks!)
BIO also really doesn’t like President Trump’s plan to tie what Medicare pays for drugs to what other countries pay — but he isn’t so sure the administration is serious about it.
“It's really almost impossible to do,” Greenwood said. “And I would say that, reading between the lines, there's been an acknowledgment from some folks in the administration about this, which is why they have basically taken the position, ‘Show us something better.’”
Also, Purdue is still a member of BIO. What’s up with that?
I asked BIO that question Monday and here’s what Levin told me: “There's no question that legal actions have been taken. We're not going to comment on those. But the reality is companies do change. And they do change and individuals do alter. But if they continue practices that we consider that are unacceptable, then we will ask them to step away from BIO.”
Greenwood also chimed in to note that he gave Purdue a tongue lashing during his time as the head of the Energy & Commerce oversight subcommittee. He added that Purdue supplies roughly 2 percent of oxycodone currently hitting the market, while the rest is generic.
Greenwood also chimed in to note that he gave Purdue a tongue lashing during his time as the head of the Energy & Commerce oversight subcommittee. He added that Purdue supplies roughly 2 percent of oxycodone currently hitting the market, while the rest is generic.
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