Video: How does the supply chain shape brand-name medicine prices?

A medicine’s path from the biopharmaceutical company to the patient is complex and involves many entities across the biopharmaceutical supply chain. In fact, more than one-third of the initial list price of a medicine is rebated back to middlemen in the biopharmaceutical supply chain – like insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), wholesalers and pharmacies – or the government. But too often these negotiated savings are not shared with patients, who are increasingly being asked to pay more out of pocket.

In this new video, we examine how money flows through this system and how that impacts what patients pay at the pharmacy. The video also provides two hypothetical examples to illustrate how money flows through the supply chain when a patient is purchasing a medicine with a copay and with a high-deductible health plan.

Patients share the costs. They should share the savings. Learn more at www.letstalkaboutcost.org.