AstraZeneca announced it raked in $45.5 billion in 2023 – a $1.46 billion increase over 2022 – during their earnings report last week. While they make billions, drug companies charge Americans over four times more for prescription drugs than customers in other high-income countries.
- During the call, CEO Pascal Soriot underscored his company’s greed in suing the Biden administration to block Medicare from negotiating lower prescription drug prices. Soriot noted that Medicare Negotiation has a “quite limited” impact on their global sales, and the Inflation Reduction Act’s $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on drug costs “is going to be a very, very good system” and “will mean a reduction of free goods, we have to give,” suggesting they are suing to protect a small portion of their profits at the expense of American seniors and taxpayers.
- AstraZeneca’s CEO, Pascal Soriot made over $120 million in total compensation over the past ten years, while the company hiked prices on lifesaving medication.
- AstraZeneca charges U.S. customers more than seven times more for Farxiga than customers in other high-income countries, even when considering net prices in the U.S.
- On aggregate, drug companies charge Americans prices up to four times higher than prices in other countries, forcing patients to cut pills and skip doses.
- Over 80 percent of voters support giving Medicare the power to negotiate, making it the most popular provision in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Inflation Reduction Act brings down prescription drug costs for everyday Americans, especially seniors, by capping the price of insulin at $35 per month and providing free vaccines including shingles, giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, and limiting the amount people have to pay each year for prescription drugs to $2,000 annually starting in 2025.
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