Richard Gonzalez, AbbVie’s CEO, has been hard at work raising the price of its best-selling overpriced drug, Humira, along with other drugs. But, instead of passing legislation that benchmarks drug prices in the US to prices paid in other wealthy countries, Congress gave him a scolding this morning. Odds are that any pain Gonzalez feels will be offset speedily by his ability to keep raising AbbVie’s drug prices.
Congress has been investigating how AbbVie prevents other companies from selling drugs that compete with Humira, an anti-inflammatory drug, and Imbrivica, a cancer-fighting drug. Humira is the biggest selling drug in the world, costing $70,000 for a year’s treatment. And, it is not available in generic form because the company keeps finding ways to buy off competitors.
Of course, in the prescription drug world, there is no meaningful competition even when there’s no strategy to prevent competition. Put differently, if there are two brand-name drugs that treat the same condition, both almost always cost a lot.
The U.S. House Oversight Committee report shows what we already know. AbbVie, like every other pharmaceutical company, spends relatively little on drug research. Rather, a vast amount of its money goes to stock buybacks and executive compensation. In the case of AbbVie, it also goes to suppressing competition and lobbying Congress. Indeed, AbbVie spent $3 million on lobbying in January, February and March of 2021 alone!
Many claim that AbbVie has violated antitrust laws. But, why does that matter if Congress is not prepared to regulate drug prices? Short of that, AbbVie will continue to apply for dozens more patents and keep hiking up prices for its drugs. Fool Congress once, twice, endlessly?????? Shame on it.
Meanwhile, Stat reports that J.P. Morgan is bullish on AbbVie. And, for good reason.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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