Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) sent letters to the CEOs of six pharmaceutical companies inviting them to participate in a CPC forum on the soaring cost of prescription drugs and the need for reforms to lower prices for patients. The pharmaceutical companies invited to participate are Mylan, Merck, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Mallinckrodt, and Pfizer.
The forum will be held on Thursday, June 20th at 10:30 am Eastern Time in Room 210 of the Cannon House Office Building. Below is the letter that was sent to the CEOs of the invited pharmaceutical companies.
Dear Ms. Bresch, Mr. Frazier, Mr. Ricks, Mr. O’Day, Mr. Trudeau, and Mr. Bourla:
The Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives is currently considering legislation to address out-of-control drug prices. As you are certainly aware, the prices of prescription drugs have skyrocketed over the last two decades. Between 2006 and 2017, the average cost of individual brand name prescription drugs increased more than threefold, from $1,868 in 2006 to $6,798 in 2017. Additionally, pharmaceutical companies have already hiked the prices of more than 1000 drugs in 2019 alone. Given that your companies are responsible for some of the most egregious price spikes of the last decade – including Albuterol to treat asthma, Keytruda to treat cancer, Humalog to treat diabetes, Truvada to prevent HIV transmission, Acthar to treat seizures in infants, and Lyrica to treat nerve pain – the Congressional Progressive Caucus invites you to participate in a forum on drug pricing next week.
We are interested in learning how your companies make the decision to increase the prices of lifesaving drugs, the costs to families and our medical system when your profits limit patients’ access to medicine, the justification for your executive compensation packages of between $15 million and $30 million annually, and your thoughts on direct drug price negotiation – on all drugs – with the federal government.
This forum will occur on the morning of Thursday, June 20th at 10:30am Eastern Time, and we request your participation response by noon on Wednesday. Americans are dying because they can’t afford the medicines that keep them alive. We invite you to share with us why your greed should take priority over their lives.
Sincerely,
Mark Pocan
Member of Congress
Pramila Jayapal
Member of Congress
A pdf version of this letter is available here.
