STATEMENT ON BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB RESTRICTING 340B DISCOUNTS THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED PHARMACIES
WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Jan. 14, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) announced it would begin restricting access to 340B drug pricing program discounts for drugs purchased by safety-net hospitals for dispensing by community pharmacies. This policy, which will take effect March 1, applies new restrictions on 340B pricing under contract pharmacy for all BMS drugs other than its Celgene suite of immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs), and it modifies access to 340B pricing under its existing limited distribution network for the Celgene IMiD drugs. With this action, BMS will become the 12th drug company to violate the 340B statute. Under that law, drug companies wishing to participate in Medicaid and Medicare Part B must sign a pharmaceutical pricing agreement in which the manufacturer commits to charge covered entities a price for covered outpatient drugs that will not exceed the 340B ceiling price set by law. The following statement is attributed to Maureen Testoni, president and CEO of 340B Health:
“The actions being taken by Bristol Myers Squibb, one of the world’s largest drug companies, will weaken the health care safety net and harm patients who rely on 340B providers for access to affordable drugs and care while enriching the company and its stockholders. In 2020, BMS reported $42.5 billion in revenues, with its cancer drug Revlimid accounting for more than $12 billion.”
“Federal regulators and two federal courts have found community pharmacy restrictions such as those planned by BMS to be unlawful under the 340B statute. The company’s actions fly in the face of those warnings, and we are calling on the government to use all its enforcement powers to put a halt to these harmful policies.”
“While hundreds of drug companies selling their products in the U.S. are keeping their legal promises to provide 340B discounts in return for access to the Medicaid and Medicare Part B markets, there are now a dozen, mostly large companies that are in clear violation of the law. The government must compel these outlier companies into line before the problem worsens.”
Contact: Richard Sorian at richard.sorian@340bhealth.org or 202-536-2285.