“Pills Cost Pennies, Greed Costs Lives!” “Drop the price now Heather! Drop the price now!” - AIDS ACTIVISTS SMASH EPIPEN PINATA FILLED WITH COINS OUTSIDE MYLAN PHARMA @actupny

Mark Milano, Bobby Tolbert and Annette Gaudino, of TAG, 

Yesterday, I rode my bike up to 405 Lexington Ave to the offices of Mylan Pharma to join friends from ACT UP, VOCAL, UAEM (Universities Allied for Essential Medicines) to denounce Mylan and a pattern of price gauging that has become all too common.

Photos by Erik McGregor

Arriving at the Chrysler Building, my friend Michael Kerr was screaming, “Shame on you Mylan Pharma!  $600 for EpiPen that costs $50.00. I hope you get dirty kitty litter for Christmas!” He paused. “or Chanukah.” he continued.  “Until congress acts, we are going to have to resort to public shaming.” The presidential candidates have to make this an issue.

The crowd began chanting, “Heather Bresch, whaddya say?  How many kids have you killed today?”

Generations of ACT UP members were on hand. Those who have been with ACT UP for almost three decades, as well as newer activists with the Voices of Community Activists and Leaders.  I asked Jim Eigo why he was here.

“This is just one more example of ACT UP taking on exorbitant drug pricing that insurance cannot pay.  The company says they are passive victims of market forces, just part of an out of control system.  But we see it otherwise.  These are clear choices the companies are making.  But today, we are seeing rumblings about companies talking about just prices.  We need a compact that companies not over charge for medications. Its like certain pathogens that kill themselves because they are too stupid.” Eigo suggested the same thing was happening with these drug companies.

“Pills cost pennies, greed costs lives!” the crowd began screaming.

Mark Milano explained, “We are here because the dramatic increase in the cost of the EpiPen, from $50 to $600 dollars per pill.  Martin Shkreli is not an outlier.  Drug companies push up prices and congress does nothing because pharma owns them. This does not just effect People with AIDS.  It effects everyone. These prices could bankrupt Medicare!  Shame on every pharmaceutical company that is overcharging!”

 “Drop the price now Heather! Drop the price now!”

“Release the drugs Heather!”

As we were chanting, Mark Milano and several other activists tried to enter the building.

But we were locked out.

“You have to pay $600.00,” one of the activists laughed.

“We are here from ACT UP and VOCAL to protest price gauging,” Milano explained just outside the Chrysler Building.  “This is but one example,” he continued, offering examples from Gilliad for their hepatitis C drug, etc.  “It is not just Mylan.  These companies see a chance to rack up profits.  “HIV medications can cost up to $30,000 a year for one person.  But they cost $50.00 abroad.  These companies are profiting on our backs.”

Standing in front of a piñata of an EpiPen, Milano took a swing, watching money fall out.

This is how they see EpiPen, as money, Milano continued.  

“People over profits, Drop the price now!” screamed the crowd.

Bobby Tolbert, of VOCAL stood up to echo Milano’s sentiment, noting that his daughter has asthma and can’t afford the EpiPen.  He argued that a just a society, needs fair affordable pricing for basic good. “Bring the price down!”

Annette Gaudino, of TAG, followed. “This is not just about greed.  This is about a system. There is no fair price for a monopoly. It’s a hostage system, with companies and government working together.”

Milano pointed out that ACT UP was watching. They would be attending congressional hearings on the topic. 

We’ll be back.

As ACT UP’s press release explained: 

September 15, 2016 - New York, NY – On  Wednesday afternoon, activists from ACT UP/NY (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power), VOCAL NY (Voices of Community Activists and Leaders), UAEM (Universities Allied for Essential Medicines) and other groups protested the  ongoing U.S. drug pricing crisis, as demonstrated by the 1,100% increase in  the price for an EpiPen, a device that can stop a life-threatening allergic reaction.

A giant EpiPen piñata filled with gold coins was smashed to visualize the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, which threatens millions of lives every year.

The protest took place outside the New York City office of Mylan Pharmaceuticals in the Chrysler Building.  Mylan, the maker of the Epipen, raised its price  from $50 in 2004 to $600 today (the device costs about $20 to make).  At the same time, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch saw her salary jump from $2.5 million to $19 million.  Mylan has also increased prices over 20% on 24 other drugs, including a 542% increase on a gall stone medication.

Activists were also protesting Gilead Sciences who put a $1,000 per-pill price tag on its hepatitis C drug Sovaldi and Pfizer, Inc which raised prices this year for more than 100 of its drugs, some by as much as 20%.

Activists also decried the price hikes for Naloxone, used to reverse opioid overdoses, which costs over 17 times what it did two years ago, and Insulin, the price of which has jumped over 200% from 2002 to 2013.

Pharma claims their high prices reflect research costs. But a study published in JAMA found that drug companies invest only 10 to 20% of their revenue in research. The authors wrote, “Prescription drugs are priced primarily on the basis of what the market will bear.”     Much critical drug research actually takes place in publicly-funded academic institutions or with other taxpayer funding.

ACT UP member Mark Milano said, “Since American taxpayers fund much of the research that goes into creating these medications, we can’t then hand it off to pharmaceutical companies to charge exorbitant prices that we can’t afford or that bankrupt us. High drug prices reduce accessibility and risk people’s lives.”

Photos by Brandon Cuicchi 

END THE DRUG PRICING CRISIS!

1,100% INCREASE IN EPIPEN BETRAYS MUCH LARGER PROBLEM

Every few weeks, we hear of another drug company charging exorbitant prices for lifesaving medications.  Pharma has clearly become an industry of cash hungry profiteers, instead of a healthcare industry focusing on keeping individuals and the public alive and healthy.  We need to National price controls and FDA reform to end Pharma Profiteering.

Here are just a few examples:

·      Mylan jacked up the price for an EpiPen, a device that can stop a life-threatening allergic reaction. Its price has risen from $50 in 2004 to $600 today (the device costs about $20 to make).  At the same time, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch saw her salary jump from $2.5 million to $19 million.  Mylan has also increased prices over 20% on 24 other drugs, including a 542% increase on a gall stone medication.

·      Gilead Sciences put a $1,000 per-pill price tag on its hepatitis C drug Sovaldi. Now, it has flatly refused to offer AIDS Drug Assistance Programs any price reduction on any of its hep C drugs.

·      Valeant Pharmaceuticals increased the prices of two crucial heart medications by up to 525%.

·      Pfizer, Inc . raised prices this year for more than 100 of its drugs, some by as much as 20%.  Its pneumonia vaccine costs 68x more than in 2001, leading to $28 billion in sales for Pfizer & GSK. 

·      Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of Daraprim 5,000%, from $13.50 to $750 a pill.

·      Insulin, used to treat diabetes since the 1920s, jumped over 200% in price from 2002 to 2013. 

·      Asthma inhalers , which once cost under $15, now cost up to $100.

·      Naloxone , used to reverse opioid overdoses, costs over 17 times what it did two years ago.

Pharma claims their high prices reflect research costs. But a study published in JAMA found that drug companies invest only 10 to 20% of their revenue in research. The authors wrote, “Prescription drugs are priced primarily on the basis of what the market will bear.”   Much critical drug research actually takes place in publicly-funded academic institutions or with other taxpayer funding.

Not one of the 15 drug-pricing bills recently introduced in Congress made it out of committee. Why? Because Big Pharma spent $240 million on lobbying last year, more than any other industry.  

·      The Bayh-Dole Act mandates that any drug developed with public financing be available on “reasonable terms”. If it isn’t, the government should “march in” and license the drug to other suppliers. 

·      The government should regard extreme prices as it does drug shortages, allowing for emergency imports of cheaper products. 

·      The U.S Patent Office and the FDA should stop handing out market exclusivity for patents on drugs and delivery devices that offer little or no additional benefit. 

·      A national body should set price ceilings for essential medicines (as occurs in other countries) and review price increases on drugs that have not changed.

·      The NIH must serve the public, rather than being held hostage by Pharma monopoly prices. Drugs substantially funded by taxpayers should not cost more in the U.S. than in other wealthy countries.