LAST WEEK
On Friday, the Biden Administration released an executive order (EO) to promote competition in the American economy. The EO includes 72 initiatives, including three measures aimed at lowering prescription drug prices including drug importation from Canada and banning “pay for delay” in the generics market. MassBio’s EVP Zach Stanley issued the below statement in response to the EO:
“Competition in the biopharma marketplace drives innovation, which improves patient health outcomes. The pieces of today’s Executive Order seeking to address prescription drug prices are ineffective stop-gap measures. Real solutions to lowering what consumers pay at the pharmacy counter exist and we look forward to discussing and debating these ideas as part of the legislative process.”
And in Massachusetts, the appointed fiscal year 2022 budget Conference Committee filed its compromise budget on Thursday. The budget was passed unanimously in both chambers and was sent to Governor Baker on Friday where it awaits further action.
THIS WEEK
In Massachusetts, Governor Baker and his budget team will spend the next several days reviewing the $48.1 billion fiscal year 2022 budget. Additionally, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing held a hearing on Tuesday related to pharmaceutical access, cost, and transparency. And on Wednesday, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission will hold a board meeting to discuss policy recommendations for inclusion in the Commission’s 2020 Health Care Cost Trends Report. The public portion of the meeting will be livestreamed on the HPC’s YouTube channel.
MassBio will host its 4th Annual ED&I Conference on Thursday, bringing together life sciences leaders committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion to learn, get inspired, and take action across their organizations, communities, and in the ecosystem at large. Learn more and register here.