Time to Eliminate the ‘Pill Penalty’ – HLC Letter Urges Passage of the EPIC Act

The Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), an association of CEOs and C-suite executives from all sectors of healthcare, reiterates strong support to the sponsors reintroducing the Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act in the 119th Congress and commending them for their continued leadership on this critical issue. The bipartisan legislation addresses the unintended consequences of the Inflation Reduction Act‘s (IRA) pricing provisions on small molecule drugs, by ensuring that research and development (R&D) investments in these vital medicines continue unabated.

Under the IRA, small molecule medicines face government-imposed pricing after only nine years of FDA approval, when biologics are granted 13 years before such controls are levied. This “pill penalty” discourages investment in small molecule R&D, and by some estimates, could result in over 188 fewer small molecule therapies reaching the market.

“The EPIC Act corrects this imbalance by aligning the negotiation timelines for small molecule drugs with those of biologics, ensuring more parity for pharmaceutical innovation,” wrote HLC President and CEO Maria Ghazal. “By eliminating the ‘pill penalty,’ this legislation will encourage continued investment in small molecule therapies, ultimately benefiting patients who rely on these medicines for their health and well-being.”

The letter was addressed to original co-sponsors of the EPIC Act, Representatives Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC), Don Davis (D-NC), and Richard Hudson (R-NC), and urged Congress to swiftly pass the legislation.

The Healthcare Leadership Council is the exclusive forum for the nation’s healthcare industry leaders to discuss major, sector-wide issues, generate innovative solutions to unleash private sector ingenuity, and advocate for policies to improve our nation’s healthcare delivery system.

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