Statement from Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, on the passage of the Ensuring Innovation Act:

For decades, access to prescription drugs has been treated more like a luxury than a public good in the United States, even though taxpayers pay for much of the research that funds the development of these drugs. This legislation, which would start to rein in the drug corporations’ monopoly power, will have an outsized impact on the millions of Americans struggling to afford their medicines every year.

Drug corporations have been allowed to game the system for too long. Despite claims that high prices are necessary to drive innovation and the development of medicines, the truth is they spend more money on marketing than on research and development, and nearly every new medication in the past decade was paid for with American taxpayer dollars, including those for COVID-19.

At the end of the day, new and innovative drugs can’t help anyone if no one can afford them. That’s why action by Congress to rein in Big Pharma remains an important issue for Americans, and why passage of even stronger legislation like H.R.3 is needed to create a U.S. healthcare system where affordable prescriptions are a reality for everyone.