Medicare now negotiating price of drug that costs $7,100 in U.S. vs. $900 in Canada
CTV
Sen. Bernie Sanders is once again taking the pharmaceutical industry to task, issuing a report Tuesday that highlights the cost of three blockbuster drugs that are far pricier in the U.S. than in other countries.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is once again taking the pharmaceutical industry to task, issuing a report Tuesday that highlights the cost of three blockbuster drugs that are far pricier in the U.S. than in other countries.
The differences are striking. The annual list price of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis, a blood thinner that reduces the risk of stroke, is $7,100 in the U.S. But in Japan, it’s US$940; in Canada, it’s US$900; in Germany, it’s US$770; in the United Kingdom, it’s US$760; and in France, it’s US$650.
Johnson & Johnson’s arthritis drug Stelara carries an annual list price of $79,000 in the U.S. In Germany, it’s US$30,000; in Canada, it’s US$20,000; in the U.K., it’s US$16,000; in Japan, it’s US$14,000; and in France, it’s US$12,000.
And the annual list price of Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda is $191,000 in the US, while in the U.K., it’s US$115,000; in Canada, it’s US$112,000; in France, it’s US$91,000; in Germany, it’s $89,000; and in Japan, it’s US$44,000.
Sanders, an independent from Vermont, issued the report ahead of a hearing Thursday with the CEOs of the three drugmakers before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which he chairs. The hearing has already proved fiery, with Sanders threatening to issue the committee’s first subpoenas in more than 40 years to compel the heads of Johnson & Johnson and Merck to testify. They agreed late last month to appear voluntarily.
Johnson & Johnson declined to comment on Sanders’ report. Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb did not return requests for comment.
Other nations typically pay far less for medications, in large part because their governments often determine the cost. However, that gap could begin to shrink for certain drugs in coming years.
