by Carly Moran
A new study by the Vital Transformation and We Work for Health organizations estimates that recent federal drug policies could result in more than 11,000 jobs lost in Arizona.
The study states that in addition to job losses, fewer drugs and therapies would be approved over a ten-year period. These negative developments would all be due to the market controls put in place by the Senate-introduced SMART Prices Act, an extension of the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The emerging consequences of the Inflation Reduction Act give us a glimpse at what sick patients and Arizona workers can expect if lawmakers continue to expand government-mandated drug pricing policies,” said Arizona Chamber of Commerce President Danny Seiden. “According to the latest study, these misguided and deeply flawed policies could cost Arizona over 11,000 jobs and result in a drastic reduction of treatments for patients waiting on a cure.”
Approximately 70% of current drug therapies identified for price setting may not have been developed if market caps were introduced earlier, the study claims. Additionally, 237 fewer FDA approvals would be made over 10 years. Oncology, neurology and rare disease research would be most affected.
“At a time when the biopharmaceutical industry is just beginning to experience the negative impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act’s government-mandated drug pricing policy, any new proposal only adds fuel to the fire and reinforces a deeply misguided and flawed approach,” Tom Kowalski said, the national co-chair of We Work For Health. “This latest study demonstrates just how bad the damage could be should these plans be
Implemented.”
Currently, both organizations are lobbying for small molecule research incentives to be preserved.
The study was conducted by Dr. Harry Bowen alongside peers Dr. Daniel Gassull and organization CEO Duane Schulthess. Bowen was the former staff economist for the Office of Foreign Economic Research at the U.S. Department of Labor, and currently teaches at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Vital Transformation and We Work for Health are biopharmaceutical advocacy groups that research the economic effects of drug development across the globe.
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Carly Moran is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Pharmacist Consult” by Oregon State University. CC BY-SA 2.0.
