Tlaib Introduces the Medicines for the People Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) introduced the Medicines for the People Act which will establish a public option for biomedical and pharmaceutical research and development. The National Institute for Biomedical Research and Development, as part of the National Institutes of Health, will engage in the full-cycle development of drugs, devices, and biological products to reduce drug prices, promote access to medicines, foster scientific innovation, and address public health priorities.

“Big Pharma is using our taxpayer dollars to fund their greed and is profiting heavily from it. They are charging outrageous prices and neglecting urgent public health needs. It’s time for our government to take the lead in driving drug development—not leave it solely in the hands of private companies that too often put profits over people,” said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. “I am proud to introduce the Medicines for the People Act to tackle this crisis.”

Prescription drugs in the U.S. cost 278 percent more than in other countries. To make matters worse, these high prices and the resulting massive profits are not fueling innovation. Big Pharma spends more money on stock buy-backs, dividends, and executive compensation than on research and development (R&D). In fact, there is no correlation between drug companies’ R&D costs and the prices they charge—and most newly approved drugs fail to provide previously unavailable medical benefits. At the same time, virtually all new prescription drugs are produced with public support, yet public health priorities and unmet medical needs are neglected as companies pursue profits instead. Public investments should support public health first and foremost, not private profits. We need an alternative.

The National Institute for Biomedical Research and Development will:

• Carry out a program for the research and development of drugs, devices, and biological products to promote long-term access to medicines, foster innovation, and prioritize public health needs—while ensuring its treatments are available to the public at equitable and accessible prices.
• Adhere to the highest standards of transparency by ensuring that the scientific data generated by its research is made publicly available.
• Monitor research supported by the NIH and acquire the rights to inventions produced by such research.
• Manage the patents derived from its research and development programs in the public interest.
• Be governed by a multi-stakeholder board—including public health officials, representatives from independent patient-advocate organizations, and those with a background in access to medicines.
• Prioritize those interventions that address unmet needs, offer the potential for scientific breakthrough, and/or offer the largest public health impact—instead of maximizing private profits.

“Support from the American public funds the research that undergirds virtually all new medicines that prescription drug corporations bring to market, yet we continue to allow Big Pharma to charge us the highest prices in the world,” said Peter Maybarduk, Access to Medicines Director at Public Citizen. “The Medicines for the People Act would reclaim power drug corporations abuse, to ensure we are supporting research and development of treatments that meet our medical needs at fair prices instead of publicly subsidizing pharma greed.”

“Nurses know deeply the deadly impacts our profit-driven health care system has on our patients,” said Mary Turner, RN and President of National Nurses United. “Profit motive impacts everything down to the cost and availability of prescription drugs. We are already seeing our patients ration their medications to make it last, and the cuts to health care programs from HR 1 will undoubtedly make it harder to afford medications. We’re grateful to Representative Rashida Tlaib for introducing the Medicines for the People Act. It’s time we create a real alternative to Big Pharma, one that prioritizes public health and puts an end to the money-making schemes that make it impossible to get the prescription drugs our patients need.”

“The Medicines for the People Act would be transformative, breaking Big Pharma’s monopoly on our medicines supply and assuring that the next breakthrough medicines come to market at prices we can all afford,” said Dana Brown, Senior Fellow at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator. “Moreover, the National Institute for Biomedical Research and Development’s transparency and collaboration measures would speed up innovation across the sector in a win-win for private industry and public science.”

“The Medicines for the People Act is about making sure taxpayers get high-quality medicines to solve our most pressing health challenges, not just pad the bottom lines of major corporations,” said Cassidy Parshall, Program Manager for Universities Allied for Essential Medicines North America. “By expanding the public’s innovation system, patients will get the care they need while we lower the costs of medicines for everyone.”

“At The Senior Alliance, we see firsthand how rising prescription drug and medical costs can limit older adults’ access to the care they need,” said Amanda Sears, Chief Community Impact Officer at The Senior Alliance. “The Senior Alliance supports initiatives that lower medical and prescription drug costs to ensure every older adult can obtain high quality healthcare.”

“Drug monopolies and middlemen threaten Americans’ physical and financial health,” said Emma Freer, Senior Policy Analyst for Healthcare at American Economic Liberties Project. “Economic Liberties is proud to endorse the Medicines for the People Act, which would establish a public option and is a big step toward breaking up Big Medicine.”

Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12) joined in support of this legislation.

This legislation is endorsed by ACA Consumer Advocacy, American Economic Liberties Project, Doctors for America, Health GAP, Just Treatment, MomsRising, National Nurses United, Our Revolution, Oxfam America, People’s Health Movement U.S., People’s Policy Project, People’s Action Institute, Popular Democracy in Action, Public Citizen, T1International, The 90-10 Institute, The Senior Alliance, Treatment Action Group, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, Voices of Health Care Action, and Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll).

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

A two-pager about the bill can be found here.

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