This morning feels bittersweet.

5 years ago, I first heard from the office of the late @RepCummings after I wrote an oped on the high cost of drugs.

Today and tomorrow& #39;s drug pricing hearings are a testament to him and his tireless work to curb the high cost of meds.

That op-ed, in CNN, elevated the drug patent problem as a key driver to the drug pricing crisis: https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/02/opinions/radhakrishnan-drug-prices/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/0...

Then, two years ago, @imakglobal put out the report series Overpatented, Overpriced that went viral: https://www.i-mak.org/overpatented/ ">https://www.i-mak.org/overpaten...

Since then, alongside our amazing partners – @ProfRobnFeldman, @akesselheim, and so many others in the #access2meds movement — we have collectively put the drug patent problem on the map.

Since then, we have seen bipartisan action (from leaders like @JohnCornyn and @SenBlumenthal) on manipulation of the patent system and important challenges to patent thickets.

It& #39;s a start, and we need a whole lot more from Congress.

It has taken 5 years in the U.S., but we are finally seeing action to investigate the system-wide failure to curb abusive monopolies.

Today& #39;s report provides a scathing indictment on high drug costs and places patent abuse squarely at the heart of it.
https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/Celgene%20BMS%20Staff%20Report%2009-30-2020.pdf">https://oversight.house.gov/sites/dem...

This is an issue that hurts ALL Americans - and by extension, people around the world.

We& #39;re not going to solve the drug pricing problem until we solve the drug patent problem.