The lack of transparency on prescription drug pricing and the “opacity” of the revenue flow generated by high list prices were major themes of the second open meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) ad hoc committee on patient access to affordable drug therapies in Washington, DC on Dec. 13.
The 18-member committee was chartered by the National Academies (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine) and is working toward a report on drug pricing policy and trends by late summer 2017. The committee’s first meeting was held Nov. 14; two new members were introduced at the Dec. 13 meeting: former Genzyme Corp. chairman Henri Termeer and former UnitedHealth Group Co. exec VP Reed Tuckson