WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today applauds AstraZeneca for its commitment to cap the cost of any future “green” inhalers at $35.

In January 2024, Sanders led the HELP Committee in launching an investigation into the four major manufacturers of inhalers and their efforts to keep prices far higher in America than countries abroad. In response to that investigation, three of the four manufacturers – Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – committed to cap patient out-of-pocket costs for their brand-name inhalers at $35. AstraZeneca’s and Boehringer Ingelheim’s caps went into effect June 1, 2024, and are already saving patients hundreds of dollars every month. GSK’s cap will go into effect no later than January 1, 2025.

“I am delighted that AstraZeneca has agreed to cap the cost of their new inhalers at $35 at the pharmacy counter. This is a significant step towards ensuring that Americans can afford the medicine they need to breathe,” said Chairman Sanders. “No person should get sick or die because they cannot afford to pay for the inhalers that their doctors prescribe.”

Two of the four manufacturers, AstraZeneca and GSK, have announced plans to introduce a new, environmentally-friendly type of inhaler. These inhalers were expected to be extremely expensive, placing them out of reach for millions of Americans. However, AstraZeneca has now committed to extending its $35 cap on patient out-of-pocket costs for its current branded inhalers to its next generation, near-zero carbon propellent versions, once they are approved and sold on the market.

Chairman Sanders called on the other manufacturers of inhalers to extend their commitment to a $35 cap on their new generation of inhalers. “Now it is time for the other manufacturers of ‘green’ inhalers, like GSK, to follow AstraZeneca’s lead and cap the cost of these products at $35 when they come to market,” Sanders said. “Pharmaceutical companies should not be able to use reformulating as an excuse to sidestep their promises to patients.”

Twenty-five million Americans with asthma and 16 million Americans with COPD need inhalers to breathe.