Does the US have a drug innovation problem?

Last week, Representative Katie Porter took AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez to task on drug pricing during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. Porter highlighted the CEO's high salary while pointing to increases in drug prices in the pharmaceutical industry.The narrative casts pharmaceutical companies as villains but it's more complicated than that. It's true that pharmaceutical companies provide life-saving medicines and it's also true that some drugs simply aren't affordable for individuals that would benefit from them. On this episode of Health Affairs This Week, Senior Editor Jessica Bylander joins Deputy Editor Rob Lott to discuss the inherent tensions in drug innovation and pricing. Related Links:Beyond The High Prices Of Prescription Drugs: A Framework To Assess Costs, Resource Allocation, And Public Funding (Health Affairs)New Players Join The Drug Development Game (Health Affairs)Lawmakers Pitch A Bill To Create $30 Billion In 'Biobonds' To Jumpstart Drug Development (Stat News)Drug Pricing Conversations Must Take The Cost Of Innovation Into Consideration (Stat News)Nonprofits, Federal Government Surpass Pharma To Lead Alzheimer's Drug Development (Medical Xpress)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast