Speaker Pelosi’s Drug Pricing Plan Would Limit Innovation and Result in Fewer New Drugs, Says Leading Tech Policy Think Tank

WASHINGTON—In response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing plan, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from ITIF President Rob Atkinson:

Speaker Pelosi’s drug pricing plan threatens the future of one of America’s most innovative industries. Policies that significantly reduce drug revenues will limit the resources available for the next generation of drugs, resulting in fewer new drugs down the road. Drug companies need to make significant revenues on successful drugs, because it takes around 10-12 years to get innovative drugs to market and 90 percent of all prospects end in failure. Policymakers should work on improving these metrics. Americans deserve affordable drugs, and the best ways to lower prices are by extending affordable insurance, reducing regulatory costs, and increasing investment on basic life-sciences research.

A recent ITIF report finds there is a strong connection between today’s drug prices and industry investment on future research. It shows that reducing drug revenues today will lead to a decline in future research and decrease the number of new drug discoveries moving forward.