On March 20th, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson hosted a stakeholder meeting in Washington, DC to unveil its "2017 Janssen U.S. Transparency Report" and also promote a dialogue on value, access, and pricing transparency. It is the second time the company has released the comprehensive report, and as such the ADAP Advocacy Association extends its kudos to them for doing so. Patient advocacy groups are often left out of these conversations, yet patients are the people who have the most to gain from transparency. Numerous disease patient advocacy groups were also in attendance, including groups representing people living with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and various mental health conditions.
(Editor's Note: This blog is not intended to be an endorsement of any product made by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson but rather acknowledge their efforts to educate stakeholders on their corporate responsibility)
The transparency report highlights four key areas, including Janssen's ongoing investments in new medicines, value assessments, pricing and patient access, and resources for patients. An increasing amount of the public policy discussion has focused on drug pricing, so the information conveyed by Janssen in the report helps patient advocacy groups like ours (and others) refine their areas of interest. It is also important to gain insight into Janssen's work to develop new medicines considering the complexities of the current health care system.
The purpose behind the transparency report is spelled out in a letter from the company leaders, Jennifer Taubert, company group chairman, and Anastasia G. Daifotis, MD, chief scientific officer:
"We want this information to be useful to all our stakeholders: patients, families, caregivers, and advocates, who are asking questions about out-of-pocket costs for medicines and what resources are available to help them; health care professionals, who are increasingly being asked to consider the overall value of the medicines they prescribe; policymakers, who are working to make policy changes to help their constituents get the care they need; and others in the health care system, like payers, who consider value and price information when they make decisions about coverage and access."The report can be downloaded online at Janssen.com/2017ustransparencyreport.
The stakeholder meeting also featured an interactive panel discussion on Innovation, Pricing & Patient Access, as well as another one on Moving to a Value-Based Approach. Each included representatives from Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, but also independent experts who were asked to share their insight. The two panels offered good analysis on the oddities of the current health care system, and some tough questions from the audience about what needs to change.
The panels discussed numerous issues, including medication adherence, rebates, insurance discriminatory design, valued-based contracting, importation, among others.
Adam Fein, CEO of the Drug Channels Institute, outlined the problem with the "gross-to-net bubble," as he phrased it. For example, whereas the average net prices offered by Janssen declined by 4.6% last year, it is unlikely the reductions were passed along to consumers. Interestingly too, Fein noted that 9 out of 10 drugs on the market are relatively inexpensive with low-cost generics available. However, it is the 1:10 specialty drugs that are the true cost-drivers.
Dan Leonard, President of the National Pharmaceutical Council, addressed the question over value by noting sick people are currently subsidizing the healthy people. Leonard's analysis echoed the recent remarks by U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Leonard also touched on how most insurance benefits are valued from the point of sale, except for drug costs due to the complexities of the existing market (i.e., rebates).
One of the more notable — and troubling — observations was shared by Janssen's own, Dr. Anastasia Daifotis. Upon answering a question from a stakeholder in attendance at the event, she said transparency is important because it sheds light on the rise in non-medical switching and how these patient decisions are being driven by budget and not appropriate patient care.
The ADAP Advocacy Association recognizes that the cost of pharmaceuticals is an important part of the broader conversation about the current health care system. In fact, many of the specialty drugs mentioned earlier in this blog directly impact the HIV/AIDS community, and unfortunately we've witnessed patient cost-sharing for these therapies increase under many insurance exchanges. We encourage more conversations like the one hosted by Janssen, and also to reserve a seat at the table for the patient perspective. It is imperative!
