PCMA Applauds Judiciary Committee on Passage of CREATES Act to Help Lower Drug Prices

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO Mark Merritt released the following statement on the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to pass, S. 974, the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act:

"Today's vote in the Judiciary Committee is an important step forward to achieving the goal of increasing competition and lowering prescription drug costs. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to ensure its passage into law."

Brand drug manufacturer schemes to block generic competition are a significant barrier to reducing prescription drug costs. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mike Lee (R-UT), is designed to encourage more development of generic and biosimilar drugs and reduce overall drug costs by preventing brand drug manufacturer abuses of risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) that block generic competition. 

A broad group of other stakeholders support this legislation, including the Association for Accessible Medicines, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, Public Citizen, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

PCMA is the national association representing America's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PBMs administer prescription drug plans for more than 266 million Americans who have health insurance from a variety of sponsors including: commercial health plans, self-insured employer plans, union plans, Medicare Part D plans, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), state government employee plans, Medicaid plans, and others.

SOURCE Pharmaceutical Care Management Association