As a physician, I see every day the life-changing impact access to prescription drugs can have on my patients. I’ve also witnessed what happens when people can’t afford their medications. That’s why I’m encouraged by the work Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board is currently undertaking to help rein in drug costs and improve access.

Prescription drugs are a key tool in a doctor’s toolbox, helping improve, and often extending, the quality of life for many of our patients. But these life-saving drugs only work when people can afford them. And right now, too many cannot. Oftentimes physicians have to prescribe less effective medications for conditions like asthma or rheumatoid arthritis because newer medications are unaffordable even with insurance coverage.

That’s why doctors across Colorado applauded the passage of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board here in 2021.

The independent and nonpartisan board is composed of five experts tasked with reviewing prescription drug costs and evaluating their impact on Coloradans. The board can recommend ways to address these drug costs, and can set upper payment limits on certain drugs found to be unaffordable.

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Now, the board is fulfilling this task, researching and reviewing the most expensive and unaffordable prescription drugs. The drugs that have been deemed eligible for review this year have staggering price tags – all over $30,000 for one course of treatment. Of the first five drugs the board has chosen to review, one carries a price tag of $300,000.

It’s important to note the board has a rigorous review process, and is committed to setting upper payment limits only when clearly necessary.

Yet, pharmaceutical companies are trying to scare Coloradans into thinking by establishing more affordable costs for prescription drugs, the board will cause these large pharmaceutical corporations to stop selling their drugs in our state. This argument is both disingenuous and dangerous. There is no evidence of an association between research and development costs and setting drug prices. But there is evidence the high cost of prescription drugs comes largely from pharmaceutical companies setting high prices with market exclusivity and policies which block or delay access to generic versions of medications. (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2545691).

Large pharmaceutical companies are known to use every play in the book to protect their astronomical profits. In 2022 eight companies made a combined $110 billion in profits.

One such play claims setting affordable prices for “orphan drugs,” drugs intended to treat rare diseases, would make them “unproducable.” But the “orphan drug” designation has long been used for many popular, highly-utilized drugs, such as Humira, which has generated $200 billion in revenue for its producer. Large pharmaceutical companies make massive profits off orphan drugs, while receiving market protections and grants from the federal government. Meanwhile, patients with rare diseases are often the ones who need access to affordable medications the most.

The threats coming from pharmaceutical companies to stop producing or selling drugs in Colorado are morally reprehensible, but also empty. Prescription drug prices in the U.S. are more than 2.5 times higher than those in other countries, especially for brand-name drugs. Yet these drugs are still made and sold in those other countries at lower prices.

Though pharmaceutical companies are focused on protecting their profits, the costs to our patients are mounting. Nearly one in three Coloradans struggle to afford their medications, forcing many to split pills, skip doses, or forgo them entirely. No Coloradan should be forced to choose between life-saving medications and basic necessities like rent or groceries.

We mustn’t let pharmaceutical companies deter us from the critical work the Prescription Drug Affordability Board is doing to rein in costs. With many of our patients and fellow Coloradans struggling to afford the medications they need to live and thrive, doctors are glad to see the board working to put our patients first.

Kyle Leggott, M.D., is a family physician practicing in Lone Tree and Aurora and a member of the Committee to Protect Health Care. He provides care to patients in the clinic and in the hospital. He also teaches family medicine residents and medical students about health care policy.