I wondered how the president induced Big Pharma to support Obamacare. Now I know: The bills extend the exclusive right to market brand names for biological drugs to more than twice the time currently allowed before less expensive generics can come on line.
Sad that the US media don’t care. It took the British Medical Journal to explain. From US health reform bill will hinder introduction of generic forms of biological drugs, critics say,” (BMJ 2009;339:b4088, no link):
The American Medical Students Association and the consumer groups Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, Essential Action, and Knowledge Ecology International say that provisions in several Senate and House of Representatives healthcare reform bills will block the introduction of most generic biologicals. Improving the proposed bills could save $71bn (£45bn; 49bn) in the first decade of health reform, they say. They are calling on Congress to create a pathway for the production of generic biological drugs.
The drug industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) says that biological drugs should get longer protection against competition from manufacturers of generics. Their development is “scientifically complex, time consuming, and requires significant investment,” it says. Currently in the US drugs receive five years of market exclusivity. Proposals in the reform bills would give biological drugs 12 years of market exclusivity.
Can you imagine if a Republican did this? The screams about hurting the poor would never stop echoing. And get this!
Furthermore, the proposed legislation would permit manufacturers of biological drugs 12 year extensions whenever they made even minor modifications to the original drug, thus giving the manufacturer “evergreen” protection against competition from generic products, the student and consumer groups say.
How can we cut costs of care if the right to market biological generics—the new gold standard in medicine—will be delayed for 12 years? And don’t forget, the government helps fund this research, so don’t feel too sorry for the drug companies. Calling Ralph Nader! Calling Ralph Nader! What a farce.
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