Rising prescription drug prices in focus at Rice’s Baker Institute June 8

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

Rising prescription drug prices in focus at Rice’s Baker Institute June 8

HOUSTON – (May 31, 2018) – Health economist Vivian Ho will speak at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy June 8 on the rise of prescription drug prices and describe policy options to control increases being recommended by policymakers, researchers and clinicians.

The event is hosted by the Baker Institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences. The presentation is open to the public; the cost is $50 and must be paid upon registration.

Who:               Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics and director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, professor of economics at Rice and professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

What:             A presentation titled “Can Public Policy Control Rising Drug Prices?”

When:            Friday, June 8, noon-1:30 p.m. Lunch will be served.

Where:           Rice University, Baker Hall, Doré Commons, 6100 Main St.

Prescription drug expenditures are projected to reach $360.2 billion this year. Per capita spending on these drugs rose 5 percent in 2015 and 3.5 percent in 2016. The public was outraged by stories of Martin Shkreli raising the price of Daraprim by 5,000 percent and Mylan raising the price of a pair of EpiPens by 400 percent, according to event organizers. Meanwhile, the cost of the most novel anticancer drugs has risen by 400 percent over the past 10 years, and the cost of new drugs that can cure hepatitis C is tens of thousands of dollars. Ho’s presentation will explore questions about whether the prices of prescription drugs will continue to rise at extraordinary rates, whether a handful of blockbuster drugs are to blame and whether all patients will be forced to pay rapidly rising prices.

The public must RSVP for the event at www.bakerinstitute.org/events/1945. A live webcast will be available at the event webpage.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

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Image courtesy of Rice University/123rf.com.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top three university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.