Bernie Sanders Slams Drug Companies on Prices

A bevy of tweets from Senator Bernie Sanders last weekend brought some much needed attention back to the conversation on the issues around drug prices. Big Pharma and increasing costs for pharmaceuticals were central issues on the lively debates between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but relegated to the background in the recent presidential debates.

Not only have drug corporations raised insulin prices by double digits overnight – often the prices have increased in tandem. pic.twitter.com/kQhaVdxPfA

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 4, 2016

The average price of insulin has gone up by more than 200% in the last 8 years. That type of greed must end. pic.twitter.com/Inyy9NYa7H

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 4, 2016

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk clearly care more about their profits than their patients. It’s time to end their greed. pic.twitter.com/MqCsHNjzcO

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 1, 2016

Bernie consistently points out the fact that other developed nations like Canada pay significantly lower prices for the Canadian version of certain drugs. These drugs, including EpiPen, Crestor, Premarin, Zetia, Advair, Januvia, and many more, are only a fraction of the cost in Canada, but produce the same effects. His outrage is justified and has been supported by a number of public cases that point out the malicious practices of drug companies. The most prolific in the last year has been Valent Pharmaceuticals who planned to raise the price of Daraprim by more than 5000%, from $13.50 to over $750 per pill. The drug is over 60 years old, well past the stage of recuperating research costs. This case is only one of the many examples that the Senator provides.