The Biosimilars Forum Welcomes Legislation to Hold PBMs Accountable for Unfair Practices

Juliana M. Reed, Executive Director the Biosimilars Forum, released the following statement about the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2022, which was introduced by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). This bipartisan legislation would empower the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to increase drug pricing transparency and hold pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) accountable for unfair and deceptive practices that drive up the costs of prescription drugs for patients that need them.

“The Biosimilars Forum strongly supports the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2022, and we thank Senators Cantwell and Grassley for helping hold PBMs accountable for their business practices that drive up drug costs and decrease treatment options for patients.

“Safe, effective, and lower-cost biosimilars must be made available to all Americans who need them, but biosimilars are often excluded from formularies because of rebate schemes. This bipartisan legislation provides much-needed oversight and transparency to PBMs that have prevented access to biosimilars for far too long.

“Biosimilars have the potential to reduce drug costs by $133 billion by 2024 if their uptake increases and PBMs provide patients and providers access to biosimilars. However, unfair practices from PBMs – including inflated prices, monopolistic control of formularies, and a disregard of patient choice – could squander this huge cost-savings potential.

“Three PBM companies currently process about 80 percent of all prescription drug transactions. Yet, they act with little transparency or regulation. This bill will ensure state and federal authorities can squash PBM-led market manipulation, and it will support a fair competitive biosimilars market that benefits patients and delivers much needed lower costs to the healthcare system.”

The Biosimilars Forum recently submitted comments to the FTC’s request for information on PBM business practices. The Forum’s comments are available here. For more information on the Biosimilars Forum’s work to increase access to lower-cost biosimilars, visit biosimilarsforum.org.