Amgen announced it raked in $7 billion this quarter – more than $559 million over last year – during their earnings report last week. While they make billions, Americans pay exorbitantly high prices for prescription drugs. Amgen opposed the Biden administration reforms that lower prescription drug prices.
- During the call, CFO Peter Griffith bragged about the company’s success saying the company is “raising [their] 2023 revenue guidance to $26.6 billion to $27.4 billion.”
- Amgen manufactures the breast cancer drug Enbrel, which is priced at over $82,000 per year and costs the average Medicare enrollee over $2,450 per year out-of-pocket. Medicare has spent over $15.4 billion on the drug since 2010, and its price has increased by 346 percent since 2008. Because Enbrel is among the top drugs with the highest Medicare spending, it is likely to be selected for negotiation in the coming years.
- Drug companies charge Americans prices up to four times higher than prices in other countries, forcing patients to cut pills and skip doses to make ends meet.
- Over 80 percent of voters support giving Medicare the power to negotiate, making it the most popular provision in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Inflation Reduction Act brings down prescription drug costs for everyday Americans, especially seniors, by capping the price of insulin, giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, and limiting the amount people have to pay each year for prescription drugs.
Read more about why Medicare needs the power to negotiate lower drug costs and the five drugs that tell the story, including Enbrel, here.