Protect Patients.
Rethink AB 1776.

This bill has real consequences – it risks cutting off care and new treatments.

California leads the world in biomedical innovation, but AB 1776 risks undermining the programs and partnerships that deliver care to Californians, especially those who need it most.

What This Means for California

AB 1776 isn’t theoretical. It puts patient access, affordability, and public health programs at risk.
patient assistance would disappear

Life sciences companies currently provide free or deeply discounted medicines to uninsured and underinsured Californians.

  • These programs help patients who otherwise could not afford treatment
  • They are voluntary, flexible, and targeted to vulnerable populations

Under AB 1776:

  • Providing medicine at low or no cost could be interpreted as “setting a price”
  • Competitors could challenge these programs as antitrust violations
  • Companies may be forced to eliminate assistance to avoid frivolous lawsuits

Real-World Impact
Low-income patients would lose access to life-saving medications.

Clinical Trials Could Be Delayed — or Never Happen

Clinical trials depend on tight coordination and controlled participation to ensure safety and FDA approval, which means companies sometimes enter into exclusive partnerships with hospitals to conduct clinical trials.

Under AB 1776:

  • These standard practices could be challenged as unlawful “restraints of trade” due to the exclusive arrangements with hospitals.
  • Lawsuits could delay or halt trials entirely

Real-World Impact
New treatments could be delayed or never reach patients.

Health Equity Programs in Underserved Communities Are at Risk

Today, companies enter into fixed-price agreements to support care in underserved areas, including steeply discounted diagnostics for:

  • HIV/AIDS
  • Tuberculosis
  • Hepatitis B and C
  • COVID-19

These agreements provide predictable, affordable access so clinics and community providers can serve patients.

Under AB 1776:

  • These agreements could be treated as illegal “price-setting”
  • Even a single company offering discounted pricing to local clinics could face lawsuits

Real-World Impact
Reduced access to care in underserved communities.

Future Public Health Responses Would Be Weakened

California’s COVID-19 response depended on:

  • Exclusive manufacturing partnerships
  • Rapid production shifts away from old legacy products to new products that serve public health needs
  • Coordinated supply chains

Under AB 1776:

  • These same actions could be challenged as illegal due to the exclusive contracts required to meet production demands and the deliberate reduction of the production of legacy products can also be challenged as “anticompetitive behavior”
  • Courts would be restricted from weighing public health benefits

Real-World Impact
Future public health responses would be slower and less effective.

The Unintended Consequence:

Hurting the People This Bill Aims to Help

AB 1776 is intended to help consumers by increasing competition. In practice, it does the opposite.
  • Reduces access to discounted or free medicines
  • Undermines care in underserved communities
  • Delays or prevents new treatments from going to market
  • Weakens public health response capabilities
The Community Most Impacted

Low-Income Californians

Uninsured and Underinsured Patients

Patients With Rare or Life-Threatening Conditions

Delayed Cures. Higher Costs.
That’s the real-world impact of AB 1776.

The Bottom Line

California can protect competition without putting patients at risk.
AB 1776 is a reckless policy proposal — and will devastate communities and innovators across the state.

View California Life Sciences’ official Opposition Letter