Attorneys General Join Consumers in the Fight for Fair Drug Prices

The following is a statement by Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, in response to 29 state attorneys general filing an antitrust lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb for monopolizing the market, which allowed them to charge much higher prices for the cancer-fighting drug Taxol.

"The lawsuit filed today by these attorneys general is an important step forward in the fight against anticompetitive practices that lead to skyrocketing drug prices. It is shameful that the drug industry, which is by far the most profitable industry in the country, continues to manipulate drug prices to keep them high at the expense of consumers and payers.

"During this inappropriate period of extended market exclusivity, while Taxol consumers were being charged exorbitant prices, Bristol-Myers Squibb made approximately $3.9 billion from sales of this drug alone. Preventing and delaying generic drugs from coming to market needlessly increases costs for consumers, including Medicare beneficiaries, at a time when there is still no prescription drug coverage for seniors. This pattern of behavior enables the drug industry to profiteer at the expense of consumers as well as third-party payers.

"This lawsuit is intended to make the pharmaceutical marketplace work for everyone. It is ironic that the drug industry goes to great lengths to prevent the regulation of prices in the name of promoting a free market. But, as it does so, it undermines competition, which is the hallmark of a free market.

"The lawsuit filed today supplements a pending consumer lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb, which is already underway. We applaud the attorneys general for taking action on behalf of consumers across the country in this important case. Absent new legislation, litigation against the drug industry that delays competition is the only way this abusive behavior can be stopped."

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1100 · Washington, DC 20005
202-628-3030 · Email: info@familiesusa.org · www.familiesusa.org