After twenty-five years of working in public office, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders were able to put in place a price cap on insulin and inhalers, limiting what drug companies can charge to Medicare and Medicaid. In 2024, insulin and inhaler costs went from hundreds of dollars per prescription to just $35. Accordingly, Joe Biden said earlier this year, "Finally, finally we beat Big Pharma.”
However, drug companies have found a way to exploit Medicare price caps by using the climate change narrative to their advantage. According to federal data, today’s inhalers produce carbon emissions equivalent to driving half a million cars for a year. Using this climate narrative to their advantage, drug companies that produce inhalers (AstraZeneca, GSK, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer) have begun to produce “climate friendly” inhalers to circumvent Biden’s price cap on inhalers.
According to GlaxoSmithKline, “Next-generation propellant technology has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Ventolin (salbutamol) inhaler by approximately 90%.”
This strategy will allow the new “green” inhalers to fall back under patent protection, restricting the production of cheaper, generic inhalers. This move will cost Medicare and Medicaid billions of extra dollars and allow major pharmaceutical companies to jack up their prices, hurting Americans who are already struggling to put food on the table.
Biden, Harris and Sanders outplayed by their own climate change policies
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been touting their progress on this issue all year, claiming that the $35 price cap on inhalers will save millions of dollars for Americans who struggle with asthma and lung disease. Even though the Democrats seem well-intentioned on the issue of lowering drug prices, they were outplayed by Big Pharma. The drug companies are now exploiting the Democrats’ own climate change policies, producing high price “green” inhalers that do not emit hydrocarbons.
The drug companies specifically exploited the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. This amendment, supported by Democrats a decade ago, encourages drug companies to redevelop inhalers without using planet-warming hydrofluorocarbons, a major driver of climate change.
Joe Biden’s price cap on inhalers was a terrible mistake that does not address the root cause. Big Pharma patents allow certain drug companies to enjoy market exclusivity. In turn, this allows the drug companies to take turns exploiting Medicare and Medicaid, jacking up prices and threatening the stability of these programs. This market exclusivity on green inhalers is set to last another decade, restricting the Food and Drug Administration from approving cheaper, generic alternatives. This will lead to a decade of price hikes on essential inhaler drugs which are used by approximately 25 million adults and children, who struggle with asthma.
“We are talking about big-name products that are going to be largely immune from price negotiations,” said William Feldman, a pulmonologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Challenging Big Pharma's patent laws
At the 2024 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a Russian Member of Parliament (MP) sparked international debate by prioritizing the protection of Russian lives over the enforcement of intellectual property rights for Western pharmaceutical giants. During a panel discussion on drug security within BRICS nations, MP Aleksandr Petrov emphasized Russia's commitment to protecting the health and well-being of its citizens and allies, even if it means challenging predatory patent laws. Petrov didn't endorse intellectual piracy but instead advocated for legal mechanisms to ensure access to vital medications, particularly in the face of rising prices for essential drugs. This is the direction Americans should take.
However, reducing GlaxoSmithKline’s “carbon footprint” appears to be more important than getting essential drugs to the American people at an affordable cost. Ridiculous climate change policies are giving Big Pharma strategic loopholes to continue their dominion over people’s lives, and the Democratic Party is essentially making it easier for Big Pharma to continue their exploitation of Medicaid and Medicare.
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