Each day, millions of people pick up a prescription drug from their local pharmacy or mailbox. Most are affordable, with co-pays on average less than $7 for 90% of drugs. But for a growing number of patients, and the employers, unions, or programs such as Medicare that provide their drug coverage, the cost of some life-saving brand drugs is staggering.

The brand drug lobby tells us these sky-high prices are a necessity of the remarkable innovation we enjoy in healthcare. And make no mistake, that innovation is important. But as a growing amount of research shows, for many drugs this is an illusion. The high prices are part of Big Pharma’s masterclass in patent loopholes and legal maneuvering. They are waging a war on generic drug competition and artificially keeping prices too high for too long for too many.