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 In an unusual hearing of the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust
panel on Thursday, lawmakers from both parties and from both the
Senate and the House said that they had introduced bills aimed at
stopping practices that pharmaceutical companies use to fend off
generic competition, which studies show tend to push down prices.
"Millions of Americans started their day with a dose of prescription
medication. Unfortunately, for many patients, those drugs aren't
affordable. Prescriptions are left at the pharmacy counter. Doses
are skipped or rationed until the next paycheck.
That's unacceptable," said Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, at
the House hearing.
Two of the bills, one in the House and another in the Senate, is
aimed at stopping product-hopping, or making a minor change to a
medication to win a new patent.
Others would seek to ban pay-for-delay patent settlements, where
brand name drug companies pay generics to delay entering the market.
Another enables the Federal Trade Commission to ban sham citizen
petitions, where drug companies petition the Food and Drug
Administration about a generic company seeking approval for a rival
drug with the goal of delaying its approval.
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 And a last pair are aimed at
making it easier to bring biosimilars,
essentially generic versions of biologic drugs,
to market. These medicines are more complicated
than chemical medicines because they include
living organisms.
Each of the bills has a Republican lawmaker and
a Democrat as a sponsor of both the House and
Senate versions. To become law, bills must pass
the House and Senate and be signed by the
president.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama)
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