OpEd: Keep American biopharma innovation American — fix what’s actually broken in drug pricing
LOUISVILLE — The American economy has been built on innovation and a spirit of making things better. That is especially true for the biopharmaceutical sector, where the United States has long led the way in developing lifesaving cures and medications.
We are the world leader because we have invested in the research and development necessary to make it happen. We have worked hard to create a stable and predictable market to both encourage innovation and ensure that American patients have access to the medications quicker than most countries.
That’s why I’m concerned about renewed efforts in Washington to import foreign drug pricing policies through so-called “Most Favored Nation” price-setting schemes. In his recent State of the Union address, President Trump again highlighted this approach, urging Congress to codify it. While I appreciate the president’s efforts to lower the costs of prescriptions, this could backfire on Americans. While MFN may sound good on the surface, the reality is far from it.
Let’s be clear: This is importing foreign price controls. In countries that use price setting systems, government agencies decide what a medicine is “worth,” often leading to delays, limited formularies, or outright denials of new treatments. These are centralized healthcare systems built on very different economic foundations. Why would we allow foreign governments to influence prices in the United States?
We don’t ask Europe to price Kentucky-made equipment. We don’t let overseas bureaucrats dictate what American manufacturers can charge for products built by American hands. So why would we look abroad to set standards that impact our patients, businesses, and workers?
In rural America, access and economic stability go hand in hand. If policies discourage investment or undermine medical innovation, the ripple effects don’t stop at pharmaceutical companies. The impacts reach suppliers, manufacturers, and small-town employers across states like Kentucky, and vulnerable patients across the entire country. Weakening the incentive to develop and produce here at home ultimately weakens American competitiveness.
But opposing foreign price controls doesn’t mean defending the status quo. Costs are too high for too many families. We should absolutely pursue reforms that make healthcare more affordable, just not by copying flawed systems from abroad that restrict access and make vital medications unavailable to so many.
One meaningful step in the right direction is Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform. And I commend Kentucky Congressmen Brett Guthrie and James Comer for their leadership in advancing greater transparency and accountability in the insurance and PBM space. If we want to lower costs for patients, we should start by addressing the middlemen who sit between manufacturers, insurers, and families often driving up prices and creating access barriers without adding value.
Insurance reform that ensures transparency and accountability should be at the forefront of the current healthcare debates. Patients deserve to know where their dollars are going. Employers deserve clarity. Small businesses deserve a system that rewards efficiency, not hidden rebates and backroom negotiations.
That’s the kind of reform that strengthens markets instead of distorting them. That’s how we protect access, encourage innovation, and keep jobs here in America.
I now urge Congressmen Guthrie in his powerful role as Energy and Commerce Committee chairman along with the other members of our delegation in Washington to hold firm against imported price-setting schemes and continue advancing real, American solutions that lower costs while preserving the innovation and economic strength that define our country.
Putting America first should mean trusting American workers, American businesses, and American ideas, not outsourcing our policies to foreign governments.
We can lower costs. We can protect patients. But we must do it by supporting the spirit and tradition of American innovation.
Dr. Kyle Keeney is the CEO of Kentucky Life Sciences Council where he leads efforts to strengthen the life sciences and biotechnology industries. KLSC works closely with industry and government leaders to cultivate a business environment that supports innovation and growth.
