[Pharm-policy] Public Citizen's Update on Columbia Patent Extension Fight

[James Love]

This is a note from Public Citizen ont eh Columbia Patent Extention
dispute.

  Jamie

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 Yesterday we delivered a letter to the entire Senate voicing support
for Senators Durbin's and McCain's efforts to block Columbia
University's patent extension rider in the Agriculture Appropriations
bill.  Sixteen organizations signed on to the letter (see copy below and
attached as a Word Perfect document).  Thank you to all who gave their
support and suggestions to the letter.  According to Durbin's staff, the
bill will not come up for a vote until after the Memorial Day recess so
we will continue to collect signatures from organizations who want to
support Durbin's and McCain's efforts.
 
 News coverage of the issue has been good with stories on ABC News, The
New York Times, The Washington Post, Roll Call, and other outlets.
 
 If you need more information about the legislation or would like a copy
of the letter and flyer that was delivered to the Senate yesterday,
please respond to this email with your fax number and the information
you are interested in.
 
 We also encourage you to write your own letter on the issue. If you
choose to do so, please let us know that as well and send your letters
to:
 Anne Marie Murphy in Sen. Durbin's office; fax: 228-1692 (ph: 224-8464)
 Anne_Marie_Murphy@durbin.senate.gov
 Sonya Sotak in Sen. McCain's office; fax: 228-2862 (ph: 224-1329)
 sonya_sotak@mccain.senate.gov

 Thank you for your continued efforts to protect consumer interests.
 
 Frank Clemente
 Director, Public Citizen's Congress Watch
 
 _______________________________________________________
 
 May 24, 2000
 
 The Honorable John McCain
 U.S. Senate
 Russell 241
 Washington, D.C. 20510
 
 The Honorable Richard J. Durbin
 U.S. Senate
 Russell 364
 Washington, D.C. 20510
 
 Dear Senators McCain and Durbin:

  Re: Columbia University's Patent Extension
 
 We are writing to strongly support your effort to offer a motion to
strike section 2801 of the Agricultural Appropriations bill (S. 2536)
for FY 2001 when the bill comes to the floor for consideration.  This
section would grant a patent extension to Columbia University's
Cotransformation Patent.  This special-interest provision should be
stricken from the legislation for the following reasons:
 
         The effect of this amendment would be a major rewrite of the
Hatch-Waxman Act, a careful compromise reached between diverse interests
in 1984.  There is nothing in the current law that permits a patent
extension for a manufacturing process; it only applies to drugs approved
by the FDA.
 
         Like all patent extensions, this would result in additional
costs to consumers for important pharmaceuticals used to treat heart
attacks, strokes, AIDS, cancers and other diseases.  Columbia has
already earned nearly $300 million in royalty payments for this patented
process, and it was the U.S. taxpayer who funded all of the university's
research.  A five-year patent extension, which could be achieved should
section 2801 become law, could result in an additional $500 million in
royalties to Columbia for drugs already manufactured with this process
-- a savings that should be passed onto consumers by drug companies if
the patent extension is denied.  Moreover, any new products using this
technology would clearly charge consumers the considerable costs of the
royalties should the patent be extended.  Americans are clamoring for
Congress to enact policies that would substantially reduce the cost of
drugs -- not maintain their high levels or increase them.
 
         It would open up the floodgates for numerous drug companies
whose patents are about to expire to come to Congress to demand their
special deal.  Schering Plough tried to pass legislation last year that
would have resulted in a patent extension on its blockbuster drug
Claritin, which would have cost consumers an extra $7 billion.  While
thwarted initially, it is waiting to strike again.  There are 20
blockbuster drugs with sales of $20 billion a year whose patents are set
to expire over the next few years.  Now is not the time to give the
manufacturers of those drugs any hope of favorable treatment by granting
Columbia's request.
 
 
         If Columbia has a legitimate claim to make, let it be subjected
to Judiciary Committee hearings and full public review and debate, not
be secretly added to an appropriations bill.
 
 We thank you for your efforts to expose this special-interest deal,
save consumers money, and maintain the integrity of the current drug
patenting process under Hatch-Waxman.
 
 Sincerely,
 
 Center for Medicare Advocacy
 Children's Foundation
 Communications Workers of America
 Consumer Federation of America
 Consumer Project on Technology
 Consumers Union
 Families USA
 National Council of Senior Citizens
 National Education Association
 Neighbor to Neighbor
 Public Citizen
 Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE)
 United Auto Workers
 United Church of Christ
 U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG)
 Wilson's Disease Association

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James Love, Director           | http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology | mailto:love@cptech.org 
P.O. Box 19367                 | voice: 1.202.387.8030
Washington, DC 20036           | fax:   1.202.234.5176
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