Amy Goodman, CBSA’s Vice President & Counsel for Policy + Advocacy, attended the 2023 Annual Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) Summit in New Orleans this past week and discussed Colorado’s experience in a panel on Prescription Drug Affordability Boards (PDABs). Amy was joined by CBSA Board Chair Kathleen (Kiki) Traylor, MD, Director of State Government Affairs for Amgen, along with Kelly Schulz, CEO of Maryland Tech Council, and Stephen Rapundalo, PhD, President and CEO of MichBio. 

The panel, moderated by Brian Warren, Senior Director of State Government Relations for BIO, provided attendees with an understanding of what PDABs are, discussed the potential negative consequences for biotech innovation and patient access, described the experience of states that have implemented or attempted to pass PDABs, and provided insights and resources for CSBA affiliates facing potential PDAB legislation in their states.  

In particular, since Colorado is further along than any other state in its implementation of its PDAB, Amy dove into the potential negative consequences for biotech innovation and patient access that have been highlighted by patient advocates and how patients have gotten more vocal as the PDAB implementation has proceeded about their fears regarding unintended consequences, how upper payment limits won’t actually lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs, and how they are frustrated with the PDAB’s inconsistent process and lack of accountability. Dr. Traylor provided additional insights from the perspective of a company with a product under affordability review by the Colorado PDAB. 

The agenda for the 2023 Annual CSBA Summit also featured a keynote discussion with BIO CEO Rachel King, informative best practice sessions, and policy-focused panels on State Insights on Federal Advocacy, Vaccines and Beyond: Defending Science and Innovation in the Misinformation Age, Challenges & Opportunities: Access for Novel Therapies in State Medicaid Programs, and Spotlight on Agriculture & Environment Policy,  

In advance of this week’s PDAB meeting on Friday, December 8, CBSA will continue our comprehensive Policy + Advocacy efforts to share our concerns about:  

• The serious, unintended consequences of government price caps on medications as communicated by patients.  
• The potential impact on Colorado’s innovation ecosystem because health innovation requires significant capital to beat the odds and bring new medicines to patients, and a stable, predictable atmosphere.  
• The PDAB’s inconsistent approach to the preliminary data review process for drugs under affordability review in the first cohort.    

As part of those efforts, CBSA launched an ad campaign late last week with the message that drug price caps are the wrong solution for patients. This ad campaign is highly targeted to reach PDAB members, key legislators, and policymakers in specific districts. A sample digital ad is included below, and a sample print ad can be viewed here. They link to CBSA’s first-person opinion piece on drug price caps.  The ads build on our comprehensive Policy + Advocacy work on PDAB. 

Additionally, a recent blog post by Ed Sealover of the Colorado Chamber’s Sum and Substance blog highlights our concerns about government price caps on prescription medicines. The piece, Coming vote on prescription drug affordability holds major consequences, highlights quotations from CSBA’s President & CEO Elyse Blazevich as well as CBSA’s Vice President & Counsel for Policy + Advocacy Amy Goodman.