Wyden Seeks Answers on Pfizer’s Price for Lyrica
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Pfizer CEO Ian Read on Wednesday seeking to know why the price of Pfizer’s fibromyalgia drug Lyrica (pregabalin) has risen so much in recent years.Lyrica, which Medicare spends more than $2 billion on every year, saw its price increase by 145% from 2009 to 2015 and again by more than 28% in 2016 and 2017. Lyrica also was granted pediatric exclusivity by FDA, meaning it will see an additional six months of exclusivity.
“Given the past trend of Lyrica’s pricing pattern, I expect Pfizer to continue to increase its price,” Wyden said.
As far as the questions for Pfizer, Wyden asks, among others: “Is Lyrica among the 41 drugs set to see price increases in January 2019? If so, how much is the increase?” and “What is the rationale for the most recent and upcoming price increases of Lyrica? What individual factors contributed to the price increase?”
The letter follows Wyden’s introduction of a bill that would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to publicly justify significant list price increases.
The letter also follows Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) introduction of a bill on Tuesday that would create an office in HHS to manufacture generic drugs that have little competition or are in shortage.
The bill, which is unlikely to win Republican support, comes as Warren also sent a letter to Republican colleagues on Tuesday calling for hearings on recent reports of price-fixing activities by generic drug manufacturers.
Other Democratic senators also introduced legislation in the past week, with a bill that gives HHS the power to block steep price increases.
“With too many seniors and working families already struggling to keep up with the rising cost of health care, it is unacceptable for drug companies’ predatory pricing practices to limit access to lifesaving medicine,” said Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA).