A new pharma advocacy group is defending high prescription drug list prices and speaking out against insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, STAT reports.
Seven things to know:
1. The group is called the Alliance to Protect Medical Innovation.
2. It describes itself as "a nonpartisan 501(c)(4) organization, committed to fostering a national conversation on medical innovation and patient access to care that is holistic and fact-based."
3. Its leadership and funding source are unclear. As STAT points out, the alliance's website does not include a staff list or funding information. The group did not immediately respond to the publication's request for comment.
4. The group has some news releases posted and Twitter account, @ProtectMedicine. The first news release is dated Sept. 26; the first tweet, Sept. 28.
5. The group has already shown it is a staunch supporter of the pharma industry. Its website states the industry is "churning out a steady stream of innovative therapies to treat or cure debilitating, often life-threatening diseases."
The website also includes questions related to drug pricing and answers that advocate for pharma, according to STAT.
For instance, one question is: "What are pharmacy benefit managers, and how do they make drugs more expensive?"
6. The alliance claims insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and critics of the industry "have all waged a sustained campaign to blame drugmakers for rising healthcare costs."
7. Ben Wakana, executive director of Patients for Affordable Drugs, told STAT the group "should disclose its funders immediately," and described the alliance's approach as "misleading, self-serving 'facts' with the same old threat: your money or your life."
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