STATEMENT ON GLAXOSMITHKLINE RESTRICTING 340B DISCOUNTS THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED PHARMACIES
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The drug company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced it will stop offering 340B drug pricing program discounts to safety-net hospitals on drugs dispensed at community-based pharmacies if the hospitals do not submit patient claims data that the company is demanding. When the policy takes effect April 1, it will make GSK the 14th company to date to impose 340B pricing restrictions on drugs dispensed at community pharmacies. GSK reported more than $45 billion in global sales in 2021, and its restrictions will target some of its top-selling drugs used to treat people living with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including Advair, Breo, Ventolin, and Flovent. The following statement is attributed to 340B Health President and CEO Maureen Testoni:
“In choosing to follow the lead of other drug companies that are violating federal law, GlaxoSmithKline will weaken the health care safety net and the patients who rely on it for care, including those with low incomes and those living in underserved rural communities. More than 25 million Americans – including more than 5 million children – live with asthma today, and another 15 million people are living with COPD. They rely on drugs made by GSK and others to live healthy lives. 340B hospitals use savings from mandated discounts to provide free or low-cost drugs as well as vital wraparound services to patients in need. GSK’s actions will make it much more difficult for that care to continue at an affordable cost. President Biden, his administration, and two federal courts have stated such policies are unlawful and that drugmakers must restore 340B pricing. The time has come for the government to impose stiff financial penalties on these companies to bring them into compliance.”
Contact: Richard Sorian at richard.sorian@340bhealth.org or 202-536-2285.