[Ip-health] State Legislators Urge Sen. Reid to fix biogenerics provisions in HC bill

[Sarah Rimmington]

The state legislator group NLARx sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader
Harry Read today, which among other fixes to the prescription drug
provisions, encourages the Senator to reduce the amoung of data
exclusivity offered to brand-named biologics from 12 to a maximum of 5
years, and to eliminate the evergreening loophole which allows
companies, by performing minor tweaks to the older drugs, to renew the
12 -yr exclusivity period, undermining innovation and blocking generic
competition indefinitely for many products.


Their press release including a link to the full letter, is below.


Sarah


November 20, 2009 - For Immediate Release
National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices (NLARx) to
Majority Leader Reid:
Fix Donut Hole, Speed up Generic Pathway, Bring Down Drug Costs in
Health Reform Legislation
State Legislators Urge Federal Counterparts:
Fix Medicare Part D and Make Drugs Affordable

Letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid decries"morally reprehensible"
actions of drug industry dramatically increasing prices in past months
to game health care reform and retain excessive profits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 20, 2009

CONTACT:
Rep. Sharon Treat, NLARx Executive Director
207-242-8558 | streat@reducedrugprices.org

DC Council Member David Catania, NLARx Board Chair
(202) 724-7772
Hallowell, ME, November 20 - Today, the National Legislative Association
on Prescription Drug Prices sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid urging that he amend the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act to more directly and effectively lower the cost of
pharmaceuticals.

   * Link to webpage where letter is posted:
http://www.reducedrugprices.org/read.asp?news=4608

   Writing for the organization, Board Chair David Catania, D.C. Council
Member at Large, joined by fellow state legislator board members from
across the country, stated that the legislation's drug pricing
provisions "fall short in several critical respects, with the result
that Americans will continue to be overcharged for their medications,
generic versions of life-saving drugs will be delayed, and savings that
could help pay for health care access will be foregone."

   The legislators castigated the drug industry for its attempt to rack
up significant additional profits through price increases in the months
immediately preceding anticipated enactment of national health reform.
The letter states:

"Our concerns take on renewed urgency given the morally reprehensible
actions of the pharmaceutical industry in raising wholesale prices of
brand-name drugs about 9 percent in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30,
even as the Consumer Price Index declined during the same period. We
would say we are shocked, except that this same industry engaged in
identical behavior in the run-up to passage of the Medicare Part D
prescription drug benefit."

  The letter notes that the additional $10 billion in profits gained in
the past 12 months will result in "a commensurate increase in human
suffering as drugs are simply priced out of reach for many," and urged
Majority Leader Reid to revise his legislation to address these actions.
The letter states:

"We have never understood the reluctance to require price negotiation
under Medicare Part D, and it is fiscally imprudent to follow this same
path as we move to expand access to health insurance to virtually all
Americans.

We are also very concerned that the extended timeframe for the generic
pathway for biologics will freeze in place for decades exorbitant
pricing for the most expensive life-saving drugs, well beyond what is
reasonable to insure a return on investment and a fertile environment
for innovation."

   The letter requests that the health reform legislation be amended to:
(1) Require price negotiation under Medicare Part D; (2) Immediately
close the "donut hole"; (3) Insure that rebate requirements are
calculated from a baseline that predates the 12-month run-up of
wholesale prices; (4) Reduce the 12 years of data exclusivity offered to
new products, and (5) Eliminate the "evergreening" loophole that will
allow brand-name companies to make minor modifications to existing
biologics and obtain a brand new 12-year market monopoly.

  In addition to D.C. Councilmember Catania, NLARx Board Members New
Hampshire Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, Iowa Senator Jack Hatch, West Virginia
Senator Dan Foster, Connecticut Rep. Kevin Ryan, Arizona Senator Meg
Burton Cahill, Maine Rep. Anne Perry, Vermont Senate President Pro Tem
Peter Shumlin, and NLARx Executive Director Maine Rep. Sharon Treat
signed the letter.

--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: +1 (202) 387-8030
Cell: +1 (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/

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