The Supremes finally let lose their long awaited new release yesterday. It certainly followed that many, many people issued responses. While a lot of those were noteworthy, and many not, for our purposes, here are excerpts from the ones that concern us – responses from the medical products industry to the ruling:
BIO: BIO will continue to work with relevant federal and state agencies to ensure implementation of the law in a manner that helps enable the U.S. biotech community’s continued development of lifesaving cures and other medical breakthroughs while expanding patient access to these critical cures, medicines and innovations. We will work to ensure that biotech researchers can continue to address the diseases of today while conducting the research and investment required to develop the advanced medicines and cures of tomorrow.
We also will continue our work with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement the bipartisan-backed biosimilars pathway that was enacted under the law. Specifically, we will advocate for implementation approaches that ensure patient safety, expand patient access and competition, and provide necessary and fair incentives that will help spur continued biomedical breakthroughs. FDA regulations and guidance must help today’s patients while enabling the biotech community to move into tomorrow with cures and continued breakthroughs so our children and grandchildren won’t have to live with the same diseases we have faced and, perhaps, one day, any diseases at all.
In addition, BIO will continue to support efforts to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which threatens patient access to needed cures and medical breakthroughs.
AdvaMed: AdvaMed supported goals of health care reform consistent with our long-held principles. We have consistently opposed the $29 billion medical device tax because of its damaging effects on economic competitiveness, jobs and the research and development needed to find tomorrow’s treatments and cures. The House has already voted to repeal the device tax, and we are heartened by the number of senators who say they oppose the tax…We will continue to work with policymakers on both kelita smith pokies sides of the aisle to achieve this goal.
PhRMA: We respect the Court’s decision and recognize that there will be ongoing policy discussions about the future of health care in America, and about the impact of today’s decision on the health care law. We will work with Congress and the Administration on a bipartisan basis to address these important issues and will continue to advocate for an environment that fosters medical innovation and access to new medicines. We will also continue to work for necessary changes to the Affordable Care Act, such as the repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
Aside from industry trade organizations, while there may have been others, there was only one pharma company that I saw that issued a statement – a company that has staked a claim in advocacy:
Lilly: Following today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act, Lilly will continue working toward full implementation of the health care law.
Even with today’s decision, we expect that the debate about health care and health coverage will continue, and that further reforms and changes are likely in the years ahead. As we have in the past, Lilly will continue to engage actively in this process.
In doing so, we will be guided by a core set of principles. We will advocate for health care reforms that enhance patient access to good health care and medicines; provide consumer choice through market-based competition; promote prevention and evidence-based disease management; maintain high standards of quality and safety; and foster future medical innovation.
In short, Lilly will continue to advocate for policies that sustain and encourage medical innovation – and fight against policies that would undermine it. Modern medicines are an indispensable part of enhancing the quality and reducing the cost of health care. New treatments for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes require national policies that reflect the long-term perspective necessary to continue keeping the United States the undisputed world leader in pharmaceutical research and innovation.
