California State Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill in that would require the manufacturer of any drug priced higher than $10,000 per year to report operational costs and profits associated with the product.
The bill would require drugmakers to report profits attributed to drugs as well as expenses for R&D, clinical trials, acquisition, manufacturing, marketing, advertising and patient prescription assistance programs.
Companies would also have to report grants associated with high-priced drugs. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) would collect the information into an annual report, submit the report to the state legislature and post it online
Chiu said the bill is meant to provide transparency as drug prices rise.
Really? What about the cost of failure – which represents the lion’s share of pharmaceutical spending? Perhaps Mr. Chiu hasn’t been properly informed of the basic tenets of drug discovery. And maybe it’s time that was corrected.
Or maybe he’s just looking for an easy headline.
