July 15, 2021
Dramatic growth in drug spending in aggregate, as well as patient exposure to price at the point of sale, has prompted calls for government intervention to regulate drug prices or otherwise control their rapid increase. Yet understanding of the rationale behind high drug prices, as well as the economic forces that drive price increases, requires a holistic look at the entire pharmaceutical supply chain – it is not just the price of a drug that contributes to overall drug spending, but also the associated drug price inflation perpetuated via the pharmaceutical supply chain.
With these ideas in mind, the Business Group created the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Leadership Forum (PSCLF or “the Forum”) in an effort to organize key stakeholders who participate in the delivery of, and payment for, pharmaceuticals – from the point of inception to their delivery to the patient – to develop consensus-driven, disruptive solutions that could potentially revolutionize the current model. Designed as a two-year effort, the PSCLF set out to examine the inefficiencies of the current operating model and construct potential solutions for a more patient-centered and financially sustainable pharmaceutical ecosystem.