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In a poll and related report released today, AARP found prescription drug affordability continues to challenge Americans as manufacturer prices for nearly 200 of the most commonly used brand name medications for older adults rose, on average, 6.3% in the 12 months ending with June 2006.

According to AARP’s latest quarterly Watchdog that monitors drug prices, the average manufacturer price increase for brand name drugs continues to outpace the annual 3.8% rate of general inflation for that same period. On average, manufacturers of 75 generic drugs widely used by people age 50+ increased prices by a relatively low 0.4%.

“Frustration over this issue will lead to action,” said AARP Senior Managing Director of Government Relations David Sloane, citing a new AARP election “pulse poll.” Voters ages 42 and over, the most likely to cast ballots in November, defined prescription drug affordability as a major concern. The new AARP election “pulse poll” found that this issue rises to the top of domestic issues for November.

“Although millions in Medicare are now saving with the help of their Medicare drug plans, those in the coverage gap are paying on their own and know how expensive their medications have become. In addition, nearly seven million Americans ages 50-64 have no health insurance, are paying full freight, and need relief,” explained Sloane.

Posted under Health

Today, Commercial Alert launched the website StopDrugAds.org (http://www.stopdrugads.org/), devoted to ending direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising in the United States. The purpose of the website is to educate the public about the dangers of prescription drug advertising, and to mobilize thousands of Americans to voice their opposition to the ads.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is accepting public comment on DTC prescription drug advertising until February 28th. The stopdrugads.org website says that is not the proper role of drug executives to tell Americans what drugs to buy, and it encourages visitors to send comments to the FDA in opposition to DTC drug advertising.

“In effect, drug companies are practicing medicine without a license, and that should be illegal,” said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert. “We’ve got to halt prescription drug advertising before the next Vioxx tragedy happens.”

On October 27th, Commercial Alert released a statement from 211 professors from U.S. medical schools that “direct-to-consumer marketing of prescription drugs should be prohibited.” The statement’s endorsers include prominent medical school professors from Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Stanford, Yale, Duke, University of California, San Francisco and other top medical schools, along with two former editors-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The American public has little trust for the pharmaceutical industry, and believes it should be more closely regulated. According to a Harris Poll in November, only 9% of American adults believe that the pharmaceutical industry is “generally honest and trustworthy.” Fifty-one percent believe that the pharmaceutical industry “should be more regulated by the government.”

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