Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is sidestepping its pledge to lower asthma inhaler prices, a key senator charged Wednesday, in the latest effort by Democrats to pressure drug companies on the issue.
Hassan, who sits on the Senate’s health and finance panels, is alleging that GSK “appears to be exploiting a licensing agreement” with generic drugmaker Prasco Laboratories to “price-gouge families without access to affordable alternatives to Flovent,” a specialized inhaler that can be used by children.
GSK pledged March 20 to cap out-of-pocket costs for its “entire portfolio” of asthma drugs. But Flovent had previously been discontinued as a branded product as the company signed a licensing deal with Prasco.
“This has led to a crisis for children with asthma, leaving families across the country with no way to afford this lifesaving medication,” Hassan wrote in a letter Wednesday to GSK CEO Emma Walmsley. The letter was shared with The Washington Post.
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The decision to switch the drug to a generic version has resulted in a “worst-case scenario” for patients, because the generic product is not covered by most insurers, Hassan wrote, adding: “Countless children no longer have a single age-appropriate inhaler covered by their insurance plan.”
This means families must pay the full list price, ranging from $150 to $250 per month, Hassan said.
Hassan’s letter describes the Flovent HFA inhaler as “the most commonly prescribed inhaler for young children with asthma, and one of the only inhalers that infants can use.” It is also used for elderly patients who can’t use other drugs, according to the letter.
GSK already planned to discontinue Flovent and other products “for some time” before it promised in March to limit out-of-pocket costs for its asthma products, company spokeswoman Kathleen Quinn said in an email to The Post.
Prasco’s generic version is for adult and pediatric patients age 4 and older, Quinn said. There may also be a generic version of Flovent HFA entering the market, which may provide patients with another option to access the medication, Quinn said.
GlaxoSmithKline has a “clear role — and financial stake” in the marketing strategy Prasco is taking, even though GSK is no longer listed on the package, Hassan said.
“I urge GSK to put Flovent HFA back on the market in the short term and to work with Prasco to ensure access to affordable fluticasone,” she wrote, adding that the generic drug should be included in the company’s $35-per-month price cap.
Prasco Laboratories did not respond to requests for comment.
While the devices and drugs used for inhalers have been generally unchanged for decades, pharmaceutical companies have invoked loopholes in patent law to tweak their offerings and retain patent protections, helping to box out lower-cost alternatives and frustrating patient advocates. President Biden and other officials have also criticized pharmaceutical companies for setting high inhaler prices that they say are unreasonable; for instance, AstraZeneca in January charged about $650 for an inhaler that was sold for about $50 in Britain.
About 25 million Americans suffer from asthma, and about 16 million people have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. Many of those patients purchase inhalers on a monthly basis and rely on them to help them breathe.
Democrats have framed the high cost of inhalers as a symptom of America’s broader struggle to contain drug prices, tying the issue to the party’s election-year agenda of cracking down on the pharmaceutical industry. The price of inhalers is “outrageous,” Biden said in an April 3 speech at the White House.
Hassan sent the letter to GSK after her office was contacted by the New England Pediatric Pulmonary Consortium. The pulmonologists said GSK’s decision to discontinue its brand-name inhaler has made it harder for some children to access medication they need.
“GSK’s decision to maximize profits has literally ripped life-saving medication out of the hands of children and families with asthma and thrown health systems across New England — and the entire country — into chaos,” the pulmonologists wrote in a March 26 letter reviewed by The Post.
Seeking to lower inhaler prices, Democrats have adopted a multipart strategy, spanning their agencies and Capitol Hill.
The Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration last year worked together to review patents listed in the FDA’s Orange Book — a registry of drugs approved by the health agency — challenging more than 100 patents for inhalers, EpiPens and other products. In March, the FTC also waded into a court fight over generic competition for inhalers.
“It’s disturbing to think that big pharma companies got away for so long with inflating the cost of these essential drugs, forcing American families to struggle,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said at the April 3 White House event.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who chairs the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and colleagues also launched an investigation into AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline and Teva Pharmaceutical, which collectively report billions of dollars in annual revenue on the products. The senators demanded information on the inhalers’ production, patient assistance programs and patents, including internal strategic communications.
