Last-ditch Lobbying Battle Over Biotech Drugs
From Associated Press (January 15, 2010)
WASHINGTON_Makers of generic biotech drugs, backed by President
Barack Obama and a well-placed congressional ally, are waging an
eleventh-hour battle to reduce the competitive protection that the
emerging health overhaul bill would give to brand-name producers of
the expensive pharmaceuticals.
Biotech drugs, made from living matter and used to treat diseases
from cancer to diabetes, have been a growing portion of the
pharmaceutical market and are seen as key to the industry's future.
The House- and Senate-passed bills reshaping the nation's health
care system would both grant biotech producers 12 years of
protection against lower-cost generic competitors.
Yet with White House and congressional bargainers moving toward a
final health bill, Obama and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman
of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, are trying to reduce
the curbs against competition to 10 years or less. The effort was
described by industry and congressional officials who spoke on
condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
Obama met privately with House Democrats Thursday and was told by
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., that he should support the 12-year
period since the House and Senate both voted for it, participants
said. Obama responded that he disagreed with that figure, they
said.
Outside lobbying on the issue has also intensified on both sides.
That battle has been waged for months, with brand-name companies
widely outspending their generic rivals.
The drive to shrink the protection period has prompted opposition
from the pharmaceutical industry, which argues the longer period is
needed to encourage the massive investments required to produce
biotech products.
"Fair data protection of at least 12 years is critically important
to the future of medical progress in America," said Ken Johnson, a
senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America.
On Thursday, 38 patients groups and research universities wrote a
letter backing the 12-year period to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who are
among the health bill negotiators. It said 12 years of protection
would balance patients' access to the drugs with incentives for
companies to develop more of them.
Senators from California, Massachusetts and other states with a
heavy pharmaceutical industry presence also wrote Reid urging him
to preserve the 12 year period.
The drug industry has been a key supporter of Obama's effort to
reshape the health care system. It is already under pressure to
boost the $80 billion, 10-year contribution it agreed to make to
the overhaul last year.
The effort to reduce biotech drug protections could be a way for
the administration to pressure the industry to increase its
contributions, or to make it easier for Obama to show the $80
billion deal with drugmakers will benefit consumers.
On the other side, the much smaller Generic Pharmaceutical
Association is launching a $250,000 advertising campaign on
Washington-area television stations and newspapers and has written
to Reid and Pelosi seeking support, according to Kathleen Jaeger,
the group's president.
The association argues that allowing generic products on the market
sooner would save consumers billions of dollars annually and
produce savings for businesses and the government.
"It's never too late to remind the members that they need to do
what's right," Jaeger said of her organization's lobbying.
Waxman declined to comment on the issue.
Posted: January 2010
