House Democrats are investigating the high price of multiple sclerosis drugs in the U.S., reports Bloomberg.
Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings, Md., and Peter Welch, Vt., recently sent letters to seven drugmakers, requesting more information about the companies' pricing strategies. Targeted drugmakers included Biogen, Sanofi, Novartis, Roche, Bayer, Teva Pharmaceuticals and EMD Serono — a subsidiary of Germany-based Merck, which is not tied to the U.S.-based Merck.
Mr. Cummings and Mr. Welch both sit on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. They said some companies seem to be "setting new, higher prices in lockstep with competitors — a strategy known as 'shadow pricing'," according to Bloomberg. They also noted average annual MS therapy costs jumped from about $16,000 in 2004 to $60,000 in 2015.
Bayer said it does not control how much patients pay for their medications at the pharmacy, since insurers and pharmacy benefit managers determine co-pays, according to a statement cited by Bloomberg. "We take a lot of care when pricing a medicine," Bayer spokeswoman Sasha Damouni told the publication.
Teva spokeswoman Denise Bradley said the drugmaker is "analyzing the request in-depth and plan[s] to respond accordingly and fully cooperate with the committee." The other drugmakers did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment. The letter was publicized after business hours in Europe and Israel, where all the drugmakers — except Biogen — are headquartered.
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