Jazz Pharmaceuticals is the latest drugmaker to impose pricing restrictions for 340B participants, according to a Sept. 11 news release from the 340B Health organization. Its decision makes it the 25th drugmaker to impose the restrictions since 2020.
The drugmaker will no longer facilitate orders from 340B hospitals or pharmacies for the childhood epilepsy drug Epidiolex, according to the release.
"We are disappointed with big pharma companies that continue to evade their legal obligations by limiting access to vital discounts on life-saving medications," 40B Health President and CEO Maureen Testoni stated in the release. "Jazz's actions display a complete disregard for patients in need and the safety-net hospitals that serve them."
Jazz Pharmaceuticals is the fourth drugmaker to implement restrictions for program participants since March. The increasing restrictions have been met with sharp opposition from hospital leaders and groups like the American Hospital Association, which in a May report stated that the 340B program "plays an important public policy role in ensuring access to essential drugs and services for low-income and underserved Americans receiving care at 340B hospitals nationwide."
According to 340B Health, the comprehensive list of drugmakers that now impose some type of restrictions for 340B participants includes: AbbVie, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bausch Health, Bayer, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Exelixis, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Organon, Pfizer, Sanofi, Teva, UCB and United Therapeutics.
Becker's reached out to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for comment and received the following statement from a company spokesperson: "Our policy seeks to maintain access for patients and adhere to the intent of the 340B program to provide discounted pricing on outpatient medicines to qualifying organizations. The Jazz policy allows for 340B-covered entities with their own in-house pharmacy to continue to utilize the 340B program, and also allows for covered entities without a 340B dispensing capable pharmacy to continue to access the 340B program through a designated pharmacy. Based on the policy, a covered entity with its own in-house pharmacy may not designate a contract pharmacy and a covered entity without its own pharmacy may designate one contract pharmacy. Similar policies have been implemented by many other pharmaceutical and biotech companies."