The argument, once seen as too controversial, has come more frequently amid pushback to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing bill.
“Three hundred forty-five billion dollars in savings versus the cost of eight to 15 fewer drugs over 10 years,” Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) said at a recent hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to STAT. “I frankly think it’s worth it.”
The Congressional Budget Office recently released a report that estimated Ms. Pelosi’s bill would save taxpayers $345 billion over the next decade and cost the drug industry up to $1 trillion.
The report also predicted drug companies would then invest in less research and the number of new drug approvals could fall between 2.6 percent and 5 percent.
Some lawmakers have also argued that drugmakers should reduce non-research spending before cutting into their drug development spending, according to STAT.
However, others argue that reducing drug development, even by a little, is too dangerous to consider.
“I respect the willingness to see it for what it is,” Terry Wilcox, patient advocacy group Patients Rising’s executive director, told STAT. “But what if you’re the patient who’s waiting for the drug that doesn’t get through, because it’s being developed by a small biotech that’s going to drown? I’m not willing to take that risk.”
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