[Ip-health] ACTIVISTS APPLAUD SEN. MIKULSKI PUSH FOR AFFORDABLE SCREENING FOR WOMEN BUT ASK: WILL YOU SUPPORT AFFORDABLE TREATMENT WITH AN EFFECTIVE GENERIC BIOLOGICS PATHWAY?

[Ethan Guillen]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
*For Immediate Release
   *

* *

* *

*Kim Cunningham, American Medical Student Association (AMSA), Phone: (781)
223-4042 pr@amsa.org*

* *

*Ethan Guillen, Director, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM=
)
*

*Phone: (775) 287-2553 ethan.guillen@essentialmedicine.org*

* *

* *

*ACTIVISTS APPLAUD SEN. MIKULSKI PUSH FOR AFFORDABLE SCREENING FOR WOMEN BU=
T
ASK: WILL YOU SUPPORT AFFORDABLE TREATMENT WITH AN EFFECTIVE GENERIC
BIOLOGICS PATHWAY?*



Today, students from the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) AffordableMedsNow.org
campaign applauded the passage of an amendment by Senator Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD) that ensures affordable access to comprehensive preventative
healthcare screenings for women.  The groups ask, however, how the United
States will be able to afford treatment of those discovered to have breast
cancer given the extremely high costs of biologic medicines and specificall=
y
Herceptin, a breast cancer treatment which can cost as much as $48,000 per
year?

Biologics are the fastest growing segment of the pharmaceutical market and
on average cost 22 times the cost of conventional medicines.  Current
legislation contains a fake generic biologic drugs proposal that will
actually block most price-lowering generic competition and access to
affordable life-saving biologic medicines.  (Learn more here:
http://affordablemedsnow.org/index.php/learnmore/)

Current proposals contained in Senate and House healthcare reform
legislation that purport to create a pathway to allow affordable biogeneric=
s
to come to market will in fact do the opposite, creating only the illusion
of generic competition for most biologics.  But if these proposals are
improved in critical ways, they could save American consumers and taxpayers
$71 billion or more in the first decade alone.  Fixing this proposal with a
more reasonable five years of exclusivity and by closing the evergreening
loophole (with provisions such as those in HR 1427 and S 726) are common
sense for a bill meant to stop the runaway growth of healthcare costs.

Will our Senators fight for access to affordable treatment as well as
screening and push for a true pathway for affordable biologic medicines?
AMSA and UAEM call upon the Senate to fight for access to affordable
treatment as well as screening, and push for a true pathway for affordable
biologic medicines.

###

*About Universities Allied for Essential Medicines*

Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) is a coalition of
students at over 50 top research institutions across the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany.  UAEM=92s mission is to ensure tha=
t
people in developing countries have access to medicines developed in
universities and that university medical research addresses the needs of th=
e
majority of the world=92s population.  As an organization which values
innovation, we work to empower students to find new ways to improve access
to health throughout the world. www.essentialmedicine.org.



*About the American Medical Student Association*

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), with more than a
half-century history of medical student activism, is the oldest and largest
independent association of physicians-in-training in the United
States.  Founded
in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to
representing the concerns of physicians-in-training.  With more than 62,000
members, including medical and premedical students, residents and practicin=
g
physicians, AMSA is committed to improving medical training as well as
advancing the profession of medicine.  To learn more about AMSA, our
strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online a=
t
http://www.amsa.org/.  **

* *
--
Ethan Guillen
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines
2625 Alcatraz Ave. #180
Berkeley, CA 94705
www.essentialmedicine.org