Solomon Center Hosts Documentary Screening of DRUG$: The Price We Pay

On March 28, 2019, the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy hosted a screening of the documentary film DRUG$: The Price We Pay and a discussion with Irving S. Ribicoff Visiting Associate Professor of Law and Solomon Center Distinguished Visitor, Aaron Kesselheim. Dr. Kesselheim was a contributor to the film.

DRUG$ is about the cost of medicines in the United States. It follows the lives of a few patients who rely on drugs and through that lens examines the regulatory process, tactics taken by drug companies, the role of Congress, and collaborations between academia and industry.

Interviews in the film include Rep. Elijah Cummings, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Sen. Bernie Sanders. The documentary’s website describes the high stakes: “In a titanic struggle against corporate greed, see how a diverse group of concerned Americans is fighting back to keep lifesaving medicines affordable for us all.” The film is narrated by Academy Award Winner J.K. Simmons.

The discussion following the screening included questions from students in the audience about the role of patents and exclusivity in drug pricing, and the ways in which new technologies such as gene therapies may demand changes to the regulatory scheme. They inquired what action Dr. Kesselheim would recommend that people who see the film should take. Dr. Kesselheim said that it’s just important to do something.

In addition to his role at Yale, Dr. Kesselheim is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a faculty member in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His research focuses on the effects of intellectual property laws and regulatory policies on pharmaceutical development, the drug approval process, and the costs, availability, and use of prescription drugs both domestically and in resource-poor settings.