Sometimes news headlines make us do a double take… like this one, “This brand-new advocacy group is an unapologetic defender of high drug prices.” No, it wasn’t pulled from The Onion but a highly-respected trade publication – STAT News – and it isn’t fake news, the group really exists.
The group – the Alliance to Protect Medical Innovation – is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization aimed at helping ‘educate policymakers and the public about medical breakthroughs developed by the biopharmaceutical industry.’
On the group’s home page is a plea to protect medical innovation, but we weren’t aware that anyone was fighting medical innovation or progress toward cures and treatments for patients. Has any group or individual ever come out against medical innovation?
Despite the artful messaging, the real purpose of the group is to defend high list prices for prescription drugs. While it isn’t clear who funds the group or who is working for this effort, STAT News describes the organization as a ‘shadowy new pharma advocacy group.’
The group has not responded to the publication’s request for comment.
The full STAT News story can be found here: https://bit.ly/2QpbZpo