WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today joined President Joe Biden in Concord, New Hampshire at the New Hampshire Technical Institute for an event on their work to lower prescription drug costs for the American people.

Sanders’ remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below and the full event can be watched live here and here:

In America today we spend almost twice as much per person as any other major country on health care – over $13,000 for every man, woman and child.

And one of the reasons for that is the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in this country.

The truth is that the American people, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, are sick and tired of paying, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.

There is no rational reason why Merck should be charging diabetes patients in America $6,900 for Januvia when that same product can be purchased in Canada for $900 and just $200 in France.

Why Johnson & Johnson charges Americans with arthritis $79,000 for Stelara when that same exact product can be purchased for just $16,000 in the United Kingdom.

Why Bristol Myers Squibb charges patients in America $7,100 for Eliquis when that same exact product can be purchased for just $900 in Canada and just $650 in France.

I personally, on two occasions, have led Americans into Canada where we purchased on one occasion a breast cancer drug and on another occasion insulin for one-tenth, one-tenth, the price Americans were paying for the same exact drug.

The result of this absurd reality is that while ten top pharmaceutical companies made over $110 billion in profits last year, and paid their CEOs exorbitant salaries, 1 out of 4 Americans cannot afford the medicine their doctors prescribe. 

How crazy is that?

This is unacceptable, and it has got to change.

In America, we must substantially lower the cost of prescription drugs so that our people can afford the medicine they need; so that we can lower hospital costs; so that we can lower insurance costs; so that we can lower out of pocket costs.

In the midst of all of this let me give you some good news and that is that under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris we are making some very significant progress in taking on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and lowering prescription drug costs in America.

Today, no senior in America is paying over $35 a month for insulin.

Beginning next year, no senior in America will pay over $2,000 a year for prescription drugs. 

And Medicare, despite the fierce opposition of pharma, is for the first time in history negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry to lower the price of some of the most expensive drugs in America.

And as a result of these negotiations, guess what? 

The price of Januvia in America will be cut by 79%.

The price of Eliquis in America will be cut by 56%.

And the price of Stelara in America will be cut by 66%.

That is real progress. Thank you, President Biden for your courage in being the first President in history to take on the power of the big drug companies and thank you Vice President Harris for your hard work on this issue as well.

I am also proud of the accomplishments the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), which I chair, has made to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.

Earlier this year, the HELP Committee launched an investigation into the outrageously high price of inhalers that 25 million Americans with asthma and 16 million Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) need to breathe.

And what we learned is that the American people were paying, in many cases, 10-70 times more for inhalers than the people in Canada and Europe.

Working with the Biden Administration and Lina Khan of the FTC I am proud to tell you that the CEOs of 3 major inhaler manufacturers, agreed to cap the cost of their inhalers at no more than $35.

When we first started this investigation Americans were paying up to $645 for these inhalers.  Today, they are only paying $35 for them. That’s progress.

But, despite all that we’ve accomplished, it is not enough.  Much more has to be done.

In his State of the Union address, President Biden called on Congress to pass legislation to cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for all Americans at no more than $2,000 a year and to substantially increase the number of drugs that can be negotiated with the pharmaceutical industry.  I strongly agree with him.

And let me give you one example of what we have got to be doing in the future.

Earlier this year, President Biden and I called on Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to substantially reduce the price of their blockbuster drugs for diabetes and weight loss.

In the President’s view and in my view, it is unacceptable for Novo Nordisk to charge Americans with diabetes $969 for Ozempic when that same exact drug can be purchased for just $155 in Canada, $122 in Denmark, $71 in France, and just $59 in Germany.

It is also unacceptable for this extremely profitable pharmaceutical company to charge Americans struggling with obesity $1,349 for Wegovy when this same exact drug can be purchased for just $265 in Canada, $186 in Denmark, $137 in Germany, and $92 in the United Kingdom.

As President Biden and I stated in an op-ed:

“If Novo Nordisk and other pharmaceutical companies refuse to substantially lower prescription drug prices in our country and end their greed, we will do everything within our power to end it for them. Novo Nordisk must substantially reduce the price of Ozempic and Wegovy.”

And the good news is that some progress is being made.

In August, Eli Lilly took a modest step forward by reducing the starter price for Zepbound from over $1,000 a month to less than $400 a month.

Last month, the CEO of Novo Nordisk committed to working with Pharmacy Benefit Managers to lower the list price of Ozempic and Wegovy and expand access to these drugs at a hearing my committee held on this issue.

But let’s be clear.

If Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly do not do more to substantially reduce the price of these drugs, I believe the Administration should take bold action to make these drugs more affordable and more accessible.

The outrageously high price of these drugs are forcing hundreds of thousands of Americans to buy cheaper, copycat versions of these drugs that have not been approved as safe and effective by the FDA.

That is unprecedented and, in my view, that is unacceptable.

Generic drug companies have told me that if the Administration exercises its authority to end the monopoly Novo Nordisk has over Ozempic they could sell this same FDA-approved drug for less than $100 in the United States.

And it’s not just the high price of weight loss and diabetes drugs, as important as they are.

In my view, we have to move forward aggressively so that the people in the United States are no longer paying more for the same prescription drugs than our friends in Europe, Canada, or Japan. And if we did that we can cut the price of prescription drugs in America by at least 50%.

Bottom line: The pharmaceutical industry must stop ripping off the American people.

Now, I understand that this fight will not be easy. 

The pharmaceutical industry today has over 1,800 well-paid lobbyists on Capitol Hill – including former leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties.

In the last 25 years, they have spent over $8.5 billion on lobbying and over $750 million in campaign contributions.

Their greed has no end.

But, in my view, if Congress stops listening to the needs of the CEOs in the pharmaceutical industry and starts listening to the needs of the American people we can make this happen.

Again. This is not a progressive idea.  It’s not a conservative idea. It’s not a Democratic idea or a Republican idea.  It’s precisely what the American people want.

Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris we have begun to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. 

Now, it’s time to finish the job.