The Fair Pricing Coalition (FPC) is a group of community treatment activists advocating for fair and sustainable pricing of HIV and viral hepatitis drugs in the United States. The FPC was formed in 1998, in response to the exploitative pricing of the first HIV drug Retrovir (AZT, zidovudine), the FPC:
 

• negotiates with drug companies prior to price setting of new therapies;

• monitors and reports on price increases;

• collaborates with government officials and care providers on drug price reduction strategies;

• advocates for expansion of industry sponsored assistance programs;

• educates our communities on the impact of drug pricing on treatment access; and

• organizes grassroots-driven media campaigns to prevent or fight against unfair drug pricing practices

How does drug pricing impact treatment access?

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Unfair pricing of new drugs, and price increases at more than twice the rate of inflation are common practices by the pharmaceutical industry to maximize its revenues—too often at the expense of the sick and the poor. High drug prices increase the cost burden on publicly funded healthcare programs serving low income Americans. As a result, these programs have had to institute restrictive entry eligibility by health status and income level, and they face the constant threat of benefit cuts during budget shortfalls. Drug pricing also has an impact on people with private insurance; they are paying higher premiums, deductibles, and co-pays, and have increasingly limited prescription coverage.

 

Historically, the HIV and viral hepatitis communities have successfully collaborated with the pharmaceutical industry to speed the drug approval process and to secure government funding for both research and treatment. Despite this relationship, increasing numbers of people in our communities cannot access life-saving treatment and care, partly due to high drug costs. According to Fortune 500, the pharmaceutical industry was the third most profitable (20% of total revenue) in the U.S. in 2008. The pharmaceutical industry stands to gain even greater profits if healthcare reform succeeds in expanding coverage to the uninsured.

 

Over the years, the FPC has had some success in ensuring that the prices set for new HIV and viral hepatitis drugs do not increase the burden on underfunded public programs serving our communities. The FPC has also repeatedly called for price freezes on existing therapies to prevent cost-control measures that become barriers to care. Recently, the FPC has negotiated with drug companies to institute co-pay assistance programs and to expand their patient assistance programs, by making program eligibility more transparent and easier to access.

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The FPC believes that drug companies must be responsible corporate citizens through their pricing practices. Drug pricing should not contribute to restricted access, or hinder healthcare expansion efforts. The FPC hopes to stem the tide of ever-increasing drug prices for HIV and viral hepatitis treatment, and to begin lowering the cost of treating these diseases, so that people who are in need of treatment can afford it. The FPC invites you to join hundreds of community-based organizations and individuals who have supported our goals by endorsing our campaigns and participating in our actions.

 

FPC Members:

Anthony Armstrong
Howard Brown Health

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Paul Arons, MD
 

Jeff Berry
Test Positive Aware Network

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Caitlyn Conyngham

Philadelphia FIGHT

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Lynda Dee
AIDS Action Baltimore

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Anne Donnelly
San Francisco AIDS Foundation

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Sean Dickson
 

David Evans

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Annette Gaudino
Treatment Action Group

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Bryn Gay
Treatment Action Group

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Tim Horn (Co-chair)

National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)
 

Amy Killelea

National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)

 

James Krellenstein

PrEP4All
 

Emily McCloskey
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)

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John Peller
AIDS Foundation of Chicago

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Jim Pickett
AIDS Foundation of Chicago

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Britten Pund

 

Andrea Weddle (Co-chair)
HIV Medicine Association