340B needs reform, says BIO

BIO recently submitted comments to the U.S. Senate on the 340B program—here’s what we said, plus a recap of a successful BIO Asia-Taiwan. (406 words, 2 minutes, 1 second)

340B needs reform, BIO tells U.S. Senators

The 340B program needs reform, as hospitals profit from drug discounts intended to help low-income patients, BIO said in comments to the Senate’s 340B Bipartisan Working Group—Bio.News has the story.

Catch me up—what’s 340B? The 340B program is meant to help low-income and uninsured patients by letting participating covered entities, including Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), take discounts from drug manufacturers. DSH hospitals are supposed to use savings to help patients, but many appear to be abusing the program.

How badly is it abused? Increasingly DSH hospitals and their outpatient clinics tend to be in higher income communities. These wealthier areas have a larger population of fully insured patients (which increases the hospital profits on 340B discounted drugs), exacerbating health inequities and contradicting the program’s original purpose of assisting safety-net providers and medically underserved patients.The program has ballooned to the point where more than 14% of total U.S. brand-name pharmaceutical sales are obtained with 340B discounts, BIO notes.

How we got here: Federal changes to 340B guidance allow any covered entity contracting with an eligible pharmacy to demand discounts from drug manufacturers. Contract pharmacy arrangements grew by 4,228%, from 2,321 in 2010 to 101,469 in 2020, and as of today this number has increased to 194,016, BIO explains.

Drugs become a source of profit: DSH hospitals benefitting from 340B (and sometimes other discounts) charge 4.9 times the acquisition cost of top oncology drugs, says a study cited by BIO. Meanwhile, only 1.4% of patients receive discounts on 340B drugs at contract pharmacies, per another study.

BIO’s recommendations:

• Manufacturers should be able to access claims-level data, to safeguard program integrity and prevent duplicate discounts.
• Only true safety-net hospitals should be eligible for 340B.
• Audit capabilities need to be strengthened.
• Transparency should be required for covered entities.

Read full coverage in Bio.News.

BIO Asia-Taiwan 2023 highlights importance of cross-border collaboration

International partnerships are essential for developing new biotech solutions, said industry leaders participating in BIO Asia-Taiwan.

The event: BIO Asia-Taiwan 2023 brought together more than 1,500 biotech leaders from around the world, including BIO’s CEO Rachel King, Chief Policy Officer John Murphy III, and Susanna Ling, VP of Industry Partnerships and Sponsorship.

The message: Biotech is a global business requiring global partnerships—and global policies can help or hinder the collaboration needed to bring innovations to patients and the planet.

Speaking of partnerships, BIO hosted the BIO One-on-One Partnering platform at BIO Asia-Taiwan scheduling 755 partnering meetings. 

What they’re saying: “To succeed, we have to share knowledge and build partnerships, both within and outside of our home regions,” BIO CEO King told the conference. “Our industry is at the forefront of developing solutions to these global challenges. But we must work together to ensure people everywhere benefit from our breakthroughs. 

Read more on Bio.News.

President Biden's Wednesday: In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with no events scheduled.

What's Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate are in recess through Labor Day.