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boehringer ingelheim
Sanders Praises $35 Cap on Inhalers Just Six Months After Probe Into 'Outrageous' Prices
"Americans who have asthma and COPD should not be forced to pay, in many cases, 10 to 70 times more for the same exact inhalers as patients in Europe and other parts of the world," said the independent senator from Vermont.
Jun 02, 2024
Less than six months after launching a probe in the U.S. Senate into "the outrageously high prices" that asthma patients and others across the country pay for inhalers, Sen. Bernie Sanders celebrated the official start of a new program by one of the largest makers in the industry on Saturday to cap out of pocket costs at $35.
Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said Saturday was "the first day of a new program instituted by the major pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, which will allow people with asthma and COPD to purchase brand name inhalers at their local drugstore or pharmacy for only $35 dollars."
With the new cap, the company said in its announcement, eligible patients "who have had difficulty navigating the current healthcare system will now be able to afford the Boehringer inhalers they need."
Explaining its program, Boehringer said "the reduced out-of-pocket cost will be automatically applied at participating retail pharmacies for eligible patients with commercial insurance" and that more than 90 percent of pharmacies in the U.S. have agreed to participate in the program. "There are no forms to fill out or websites to go to—the discount happens electronically with no action required," said the company.
As Common Dreamsreported in March, Combivent Respimat, one of Boehringer's inhaler products, previously carried a list price of around $500 in the U.S.—a number roughly 70 times what the company was charging for the same product in France, where patients could get the inhaler for just $7.
Sanders thanked Beohringer for finally instituting the program, which came after a sustained campaign by patient advocates and the investigation by the HELP committee.
"In my view, Americans who have asthma and COPD should not be forced to pay, in many cases, 10 to 70 times more for the same exact inhalers as patients in Europe and other parts of the world," Sanders said.
The committee's work led by Sanders triggered agreement from other large makers, namely AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, to initiate affordability programs as well.
"We look forward to AstraZeneca moving in the same direction—applying its $35 cap automatically at the pharmacy counter—in the next few weeks, and to GlaxoSmithKline following suit in the coming months," Sanders said Saturday. "We are waiting on word from Teva, the fourth major inhaler manufacturer, as to how they will proceed."
In April, President Joe Biden hosted a gathering at the White House where he credited Sanders and the HELP committee for spearheading the effort that led to the pharmaceutical companies caving under the public scrutiny. "Finally, we beat Big Pharma," Biden said.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), also a member of the HELP committee, championed the findings of the probe in March when the companies began to crack on the sky-high prices.
"We launched an investigation into big drug companies because the prices they were charging for inhalers just didn't add up," Baldwin said at the time. "And looks like we were right."
In his statement on Saturday, Sanders said the HELP committee wouldn't stop with inhalers as it continues "to do everything we can do to make sure that Americans no longer pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs."
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After Investigation by Sanders-Led Panel, Pharma Giant Caps Inhaler Costs
"We launched an investigation into big drug companies because the prices they were charging for inhalers just didn't add up," said Sen. Tammy Baldwin. "And looks like we were right."
Mar 07, 2024
Starting in June, the German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim will cap co-pays for its inhalers at $35 for U.S. patients—a decision that came just two months after members of a Senate panel led by Sen. Bernie Sanders launched an investigation into inhaler price gouging.
Combivent Respimat, one of Boehringer Ingelheim's inhaler products, carries a list price of around $500 in the U.S. That's roughly 70 times what the company charges for the same product in France, where patients can get the inhaler for $7.
Boehringer Ingelheim said Thursday that it plans to reduce the list prices of some of its inhalers.
Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called the company's moves "very positive steps in the right direction" and demanded that other major inhaler manufacturers "take similar action."
"A Vermont resident recently told my office that she has to pay $320 per month for Boehringer Ingelheim's Spiriva HandiHaler. As a result of today's decision, she could save more than $3,000 a year on the inhaler that she needs to breathe," Sanders said in a statement Thursday. "If Boehringer Ingelheim can take action to cap the cost of inhalers at $35 in the United States and lower the list price of some of the inhalers it manufactures, these other companies can do the same."
In January, Sanders and other Senate HELP Committee members announced a probe into "the extremely high prices" that Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and other companies charge for their inhalers.
"We launched an investigation into big drug companies because the prices they were charging for inhalers just didn't add up," Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), a member of the HELP panel, wrote on social media Thursday. "And looks like we were right."
We launched an investigation into big drug companies because the prices they were charging for inhalers just didn’t add up.
And looks like we were right.
I’m glad to see some of the price gouging end and proud to help lower costs for Wisconsin families. pic.twitter.com/QluMNCSwJA
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) March 7, 2024
Boehringer Ingelheim was also facing scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In November, the agency said it believes some of the company's patents "may have been improperly listed in the Orange Book," which includes products the agency deems safe and effective.
"Patents improperly listed in the Orange Book may delay lower-cost generic drug competition," the FTC wrote in a letter to Boehringer Ingelheim. "By listing their patents in the Orange Book, brand drug companies may benefit from an automatic, 30-month stay of FDA approval of competing generic drug applications."
On Wednesday, as Reutersreported, a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court by the Massachusetts Laborers' Health and Welfare Fund accused Boehringer Ingelheim of "improperly submitting patents to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to delay generic competition and inflate prices for its lung disease drugs Combivent Respimat and Spiriva Respimat."
"As a result of Boehringer's wrongful Orange-Book-listing scheme, there [are], to this day, no affordable generic versions of either Combivent Respimat or Spiriva Respimat," the lawsuit states. "Payors must continue to pay for expensive brand-name products, instead of affordable generic products that should have been available years ago. This has caused payors, including the plaintiff, to suffer many millions, if not billions, of dollars in overcharges over the past three years."
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