Davis at the Capitol. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The advocacy group Patients for Affordable Drugs Now is launching ads today against the lone Democrat on the Hill to support a drug industry-backed change to Medicare price negotiations.
Why it matters: The move highlights the notable step that Rep. Don Davis took in cosponsoring the bill, and could serve as a warning to other Democrats. The Cook Political Report rates Davis' district a tossup.
Driving the news: The TV and digital ads will run in Davis' North Carolina district, as well as on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and the "Rachel Maddow Show," the group said. It declined to say how much the ad buy is.
- "He's the only Democrat in Congress to support weakening the law that lets Medicare negotiate lower drug prices," one ad states. "Tell Davis: Stand up for patients, not drug companies."
- Davis' office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The big picture: The Inflation Reduction Act's drug price provisions call for small molecule, or synthetic, drugs to be eligible for government price negotiations after nine years, while biologic drugs are eligible after 13 years.
- The bill in question, which Davis cosponsored with GOP Reps. Brett Guthrie and Greg Murphy, would close that gap and carve out more exclusivity for small molecules so that both are at 13 years — one of the pharmaceutical industry's top priorities.
- Backers argue the current disparity will harm investment and innovation in drugs that are a cornerstone of public health.
