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Ending the week with a recap of recent PBM activity on the Hill—and how you can take action—and how biotech can help solve the growing plastic crisis. (548 words, 2 minutes, 44 seconds) |
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House and Senate advance PBM legislation, advocacy groups urge passage |
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With the House and Senate advancing legislation, BIO and patient advocates see hope of achieving their goal of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform. Congressional action: The House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee on Wednesday advanced three bipartisan bills to check PBM abuses: H.R. 2880, H.R. 5393, and H.R. 5385. Last week, the Senate Finance Committee advanced the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act, incorporating the Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability Act.
109 patient advocates call for action—and earlier this month sent a letter to congressional leaders urging PBM reform, including the Safe Step Act to help patients access the drugs they need.
And nearly 2,000 signatories—patient advocates, employers, healthcare providers, and pharmacies—sent a letter to Congress calling for PBM reform in July.
Why it matters: PBMs use their market power to profit by keeping drug prices high, harming patients and biotech innovation. Three PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx—are integrated with pharmacy chains and insurers and control 80% of the prescription drug market.
How you can take action: Join BIO’s campaign and tell your policymakers why we need to pass PBM reform now. Watch highlights and BIO's analysis of Wednesday’s markup: |
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More Health News: The New York Times: Measles cases climb across the globe
“Measles cases worldwide rose 18 percent and deaths increased by more than 40 percent from 2021 to 2022 as countries struggled to get routine vaccinations back on track after the pandemic, according to a new report from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” |
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Report decries plastic inaction; biotech has solutions |
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The world is choking on plastic and our lack of action is making the situation worse, says a new OECD report. Luckily, biotech has solutions. How bad is it? In 2022, 21 million tons of scraps of plastic larger than 5 millimeters leaked into the environment globally, nearly one-third more than a decade earlier, according to the OECD’s new report on plastic pollution.
The big picture: While waste plastics pollute the water and soil, the lifecycle impacts of plastics contribute 3.8% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, the report says.
Multi-part solution: The report lays the groundwork for an international instrument to end plastic pollution. It advocates coordinated solutions targeting reduced plastic production, greater recyclability, better recycling efforts, stopping plastic leakage into the environment, and cleanup.
Our garbage is their lunch: Biotech researchers at Harvard and Washington University are working to genetically engineer microorganisms that have evolved to eat plastic naturally. Scientists hope to increase the appetites of these plastic eaters.
Bioplastics that biodegrade quickly include Danimer Scientific’s polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer, biosynthesized from bacteria. Virent’s bioplastics from sugar have drawn interest from Coca-Cola. Gevo is developing bio-propylene, a polymer created from biomass like corn and sugar cane.
Learn more: Listen to an I am BIO podcast on how we can fight plastic pollution or read more in Bio.News. |
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