Biologics are the industry’s new cash cow. They’re more difficult to manufacture because they’re grown rather than chemically assembled. This is the pretext for setting prices 22 times higher than those of ordinary drugs. Some prescriptions cost as much as $100,000 annually.
“Unfortunately, both the administration and leadership felt they should put a moratorium on Medicare being able to buy in bulk and access generic drugs,” says Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona). “In doing so, they locked in a price scheme that is many times out of control… We allowed the fox to control the henhouse.”
Congress and the administration also repeatedly balked at the most direct route to lower prices — greater competition — even though much of the country was without it.