House Bill 4005 was signed into law on 12 March 2018 by Oregon Governor Kate Brown. The Oregon Senate passed the bill on 2 March 2018 with a vote of 25−4. This was preceded by a vote of 46−14 on the same bill in the House in February.

HB 4005 requires drug companies to file annual reports with the state outlining price increases of drugs that cost at least US$100 per month and why prices were hiked. They are also required to report profits, as well as manufacturing, R & D and marketing costs, and identify generics for any drug where the price has increased by more than 10% compared to the previous year. Other data required includes information on the 10 highest prices paid for the prescription drug during the previous calendar year in any country other than the US and on the total value of the coupons, discounts, co-payment assistance or other reduction in costs provided to consumers.

Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services is also required to publish a list of drugs with high price increases.

The first reports are due by 1 July 2019. Manufacturers that fail to comply could face fines of up to US$10,000 per day of violation, based on the severity of each violation.

Oregan is not the only state trying to address the increasing price of prescription drugs in the US. Nevada and California advanced measures requiring manufacturers to disclose operating costs and give early notification of any planned price increases. Maryland’s governor, Larry Hogan, meanwhile allowed a law targeting generic drug ‘price gouging’ to become law without his signature [1].

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Reference
1. GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. US states progress drug-pricing legislation [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2018 Apr 27]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/Policies-Legislation/US-states-progress-drug-pricing-legislation

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