Applauds Q1/Q2 passage; Calls for additional PBM reform
WASHINGTON (February 3, 2026) — The Association for Accessible Medicines today applauded passage of Q1/Q2 legislation as a part of the FY2026 funding bill and called on Congress to take additional steps to reform PBMs. Q1/Q2 will cut red tape, save the U.S. healthcare system over one billion dollars, and bring lower-cost medicines to patients sooner. AAM also commended Congress for enacting initial PBM reforms, but calls for stronger, more robust measures to reign in PBM practices.
“AAM applauds Congress for passing Q1/Q2 which removes red tape and expedites the process for the industry and at FDA for generic medicines submissions, which will speed up and increase patient access to lower-cost medicines,” said John Murphy III, President and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines. “We also thank Congress for taking the first concrete steps to curtail the opaque and anti-patient PBM business practices, but more needs to be done to remove the roadblocks to access generic medicines and patient savings instead of higher and more creative PBM fees.”
Q1/Q2 authorizes the FDA to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and disclose to a generic manufacturer the ingredient or ingredients that cause a proposed generic drug formulation not to be quantitatively and qualitatively, or Q1/Q2, the same as the brand-name reference product formulation.
Murphy continued, “We encourage passing all of the PBM measures included in the 2024 omnibus bill including delinking and spread pricing, as well as additional reforms such as implementing guardrails on PBM utilization management, pharmacy sourcing, and network contracting practices, and updating the bidding process to require PBMs to bid based on the lowest net effective cost including rebates, discounts, and all concessions guaranteed to payors.”
For media inquiries, contact media@accessiblemeds.org.
About AAM
The Association for Accessible Medicines, your generics and biosimilars industry, is driven by the belief that access to safe, quality, effective medicine has a tremendous impact on a person’s life and the world around them. AAM represents the manufacturers of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry. Generic pharmaceuticals are 90 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 12 percent of total drug spending.
About the Biosimilars Council
The Biosimilars Council, a division of the Association for Accessible Medicines, works to ensure a positive environment for patient access to biosimilar medicines. The Biosimilars Council is the leading source for information about the safety and efficacy of more affordable alternatives to costly brand biologic medicines. Areas of focus include public and health expert education, government affairs, legal affairs, and regulatory policy. More information is available biosimilarscouncil.org.
