From helping make surgery safer in the late 1800s to groundbreaking work that’s being done today on cancer treatments, Johnson & Johnson has a long history of helping people live longer and healthier lives. This commitment to putting patients first lies at the heart of Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson’s guiding mission statement.
This patient-first approach is why today, February 26, Jennifer Taubert, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, voluntarily represented Johnson & Johnson at a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on “Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change,” along with CEOs from six other pharmaceutical companies. The hearing was the second in a series held by the Committee, with the goal of exploring ideas for how to bring down the cost of prescription pharmaceuticals, including out-of-pocket costs for patients.
“The hearings are an opportunity for Senate Finance Committee members to have an open conversation with pharmaceutical executives about the pricing of medication in the U.S.,” explains Jane Adams, Vice President of Federal Affairs, Johnson & Johnson. “We know that people are increasingly concerned about their ability to access and afford healthcare, and we’re happy to have the opportunity to engage with the Committee and further explain our company philosophy, values and practices.”
Johnson & Johnson is proud of its legacy of responsible business practices that put patients first, and its dedication to helping ensure those patients have access to better healthcare, at a more manageable cost. Here are three key highlights from the remarks Taubert delivered during her appearance before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
1.
A Commitment to Transparency
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson have taken an industry-leading approach to transparency around pricing practices by releasing an annual Janssen U.S. Transparency Report. The report provides information about how the company operates, including details about the research and development process, the value of medicines and how the company works to get medicines to the people who need them.
Janssen also just announced that it will begin including cost information in TV ads, starting with its most frequently prescribed medicine, an oral anticoagulant. “We will be including both the list price and the potential patient out-of-pocket costs in the TV ads to help people make more informed decisions,” Adams explains.
2.
A Drive for Transformational Medical Innovation
In 2018 alone, Janssen invested $8.4 billion in pharmaceutical research and development focused on discovering and developing innovative treatments for serious unmet medical needs in areas such as oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, vaccines and more. This substantial investment is changing lives.
For example, it’s helped turn HIV from a death sentence to a manageable disease. And the company’s targeted cancer medicines have helped patients with some of the most deadly forms of the disease live longer, in some cases for many years.
Janssen also takes a responsible approach to pricing the medicines it develops. For the past two years, the U.S. aggregate net price has declined, and the company expects that trend to continue in 2019.
3.
A Proposal for Policy Reform to Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs
Johnson & Johnson is committed to maintaining the hallmarks of what makes American healthcare remarkable: access to innovative therapies, personal choice, and doctors and patients who work together to make decisions based on what is right for each individual.
“There are a number of policy solutions,” Adams notes, “that we believe can help bring down pharmaceutical costs—most importantly, out-of-pocket costs. These include reforms to the Medicare Part D system, and changes to the rebate system so that patients benefit directly from vigorous negotiations that are taking place in the market already.”
