Dramatic Price Increases in Brand Name Drugs Spur Shareholders to Action

NEW YORK, April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As the
skyrocketing costs of brand name drugs leave millions of Americans
skipping doses or abandoning their prescriptions, investors
representing 14 faith and health care organizations are petitioning
the nation’s top pharmaceutical companies to re-examine pricing for
commonly used drugs like Lipitor, Plavix and Celebrex in an effort
to make them more affordable.

The group is citing several benchmarking reports including one
from the General Accountability Office this past February that
found branded drugs consistently outpacing generics relative to
inflation (6.3% vs. 3.8%). ICCR members are asking management for
pricing that hews closer to the consumer price index, a strategy
they believe is a more accurate reflection of value and a more
sustainable policy over the long term.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects that
U.S. prescription drug spending will grow 93% during 2008-2018,
exceeding all major categories of health expenditures. AARP reports
that the branded prescriptions most widely used by Medicare
patients increased 9.7%, far exceeding the cost for other consumer
goods in the last 12 months: prices for generics during the same
time period fell. A November 2010 report from Deloitte Consulting
concluded that the issue will intensify, and that current
pricing practices are not sustainable.

“The evidence from all the studies is clear,” said
Ed Gerardo, director, Community Commitment and Social Investments
of Bon Secours Health System, Inc. “Measures must be taken to
control costs and bring transparency into the drug pricing
equation.”

Resolutions are on the ballots at the nation’s top
pharmaceutical companies including Johnson and Johnson, Abbott,
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer, requesting that management
utilize a combination of approaches to keep drug prices at
reasonable levels.

ICCR members have been in

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