Members of Congress Demand Fair Drug Pricing for COVID-19 Vaccines

Members of Congress demand accessible, available, and affordable drug pricing for taxpayer-funded coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines or treatments, according to an official letter from House Democrats to President Trump. 

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The world is dealing with the coronavirus disease health threat and many individuals need access to treatments. But certain members of Congress believe that if pharmaceutical companies are given authority to set drug prices and determine distribution, the affordability goal will not be met and public health concerns will not be a priority.

“Americans deserve to know they will benefit from the fruits of their public investments,” the letter stated.

The members of Congress urged HHS to not provide an exclusive license to any private manufacturer for a coronavirus vaccine or treatment in any sort of agreement. By doing so, treatments may become expensive and inaccessible.

“We urge you instead to issue a limited license and implement requirements that a vaccine or treatment be made available at an affordable price,” the letter said. “You should also allow HHS to intervene if a manufacturer prices a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment at an excessive level.”   

Vaccines are most effective when the vast majority of the public is immunized so organizations must continue to utilize all tools to ensure the vaccines and treatments are both affordable and accessible.

Coronavirus vaccine clinical trials are only possible because of public, taxpayer funding of NIH research on coronaviruses. 

NIH has spent nearly $700 million on coronavirus research and development, the letter noted. This funding furthered early-stage research but active coronavirus clinical trials that began before the coronavirus outbreak received both public and taxpayer support.  

“We are concerned that your administration has already indicated its willingness to invest heavily in public-private partnerships without any conditions in place to guarantee affordable drug pricing and access,” the letter stated.

Most recently, on February 4th, the HHS Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced a partnership with Regeneron to develop an experimental treatment for the coronavirus. 

BARDA will pay for 80 percent of research, development, and manufacturing costs for potential treatments. Additionally, BARDA has previously funded Regeneron to support the development of a Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus treatment. 

There have been safety precautions to prevent Regeneron from monopolizing the medicine and maximizing profits. 

Unjustifiably high drug prices are one of the biggest challenges in public health concerns in modern-day healthcare. Members of Congress emphasized that they fear Americans and individuals in vulnerable areas may not be protected against disease outbreaks. 

“We look forward to your response and to working with your Administration to ensure that the price of a coronavirus vaccine or treatment does not threaten public health by deterring access to these vital therapies both at home and abroad,” the letter concluded.