The KP Drug Pricing Initiative, a cross-functional team within Government Relations led by Institute for Health Policy leader Murray Ross, has worked to evolve the narrative around drug pricing and advance policies that will address high prices. Collaborating closely with our internal subject matter experts as well as external partners, we focus on three substantive areas: anticompetitive abuses, fair prices, and research and development.
To support the Drug Pricing Initiative strategy and advance and amplify our narrative around promising ways to tackle high drug prices, IHP hosted meetings, published written pieces, and partnered with renowned drug pricing experts.
We partnered with experts at Harvard Medical School’s Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law (PORTAL) to better understand the evidentiary standards used to approve drugs, and to develop policy options that could strengthen the evidence base and improve completion of post-market requirements and commitments. Policies and regulatory changes in this space could help reduce the number of drugs available in the US that have little or no benefit for patients.
Additionally, we supported Georgetown University’s PharmedOut to develop a Pharma Marketing Hub. The Institute for Health Policy provided PharmedOut with literature summaries and factsheets highlighting many pharmaceutical marketing tactics and their impact.
IHP amplified Kaiser Permanente’s voice on timely topics by hosting a forum addressing racial equity in the drug development system and developing compelling publications like the drug policy 101 explaining pharmaceutical marketing tactics.
Building racial equity into the drug development system
We hosted a two-part virtual forum examining racial equity in the drug development system, which highlighted experts including our partner Priti Krishtel, JD, co-founder and co-executive director of IMAK.
Drug policy 101: Pharmaceutical marketing tactics
This thorough, but accessible white paper describes the types of marketing tactics that pharmaceutical companies use and the adverse impacts those tactics can have on patients, clinicians, and the health care system.