Consumers Pay More for Brand Name Drugs Which Pay-for-Delay of Generics
They are considered a win-win for the pharmaceutical industry. A big name drug company wants to keep making enormous profits on its brand-name drug, but the patent is expiring and the generic version is eager to get into the market. The solution that seems to be working for everyone is that the big-name manufacturer pays to delay the generic’s entry into the market. It’s cheaper in the long run than losing revenue to the competing generic, and the generic likes it because it can receive payments essentially for NOT making a drug.
This pay-for-delay is a win-win for everyone except the consumer. Public Citizen’s Health Research Group reports that the consumer loses because they miss out on the lower generic price that can cost as much as 90 percent less than the high-priced brand-name. For a $300 a month drug, for example, the consumer could pay as little as $30 a month (or thousands less every year). For example, when the patent for the narcolepsy drug Provigil was expiring, drug maker Cephalon paid about $200 million to generic companies to drop their competition. The company made $4 billion.
Some of these payments to generic makers can last nearly 17 months, the citizen group reports. And Public Citizen compiled data from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that shows for six fiscal years beginning in 2004, there were 66 of these delay agreements. And it appears to be getting worse. Public Citizen reports in just the last two years, there were 59 of these agreements.
The projected ten-year cost to Americans is $35 billion.
The obvious solution from a pro-consumer perspective is to stop these deals and lower the price of drugs. Legislation is pending, but your representatives in Congress need to hear that this is an important issue to you. The legislation is Senate Bill 27, the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act.
Farah & Farah encourages you to call your representative to let them know you care about the price of drugs and want cheaper alternatives.
Whether it resulted from a generic or brand name drug, any patient who has had an adverse experience with a medical drug they are using can call the Florida dangerous drug lawyers of Farah & Farah. If the manufacturer was negligent and failed to warn the public about the dangers of their drug, they can be held legally accountable. Call (800) 670-1464 for a free consultation.
Source: Worst Pills (by subscription) http://www.worstpills.org/; http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2011/05/more-on-pay-for-delay-drug-patent-settlements.html; http://www.votesmart.org/public-statement/646912/dealmaking-in-pay-for-delay-settlements-continues-between-brand-name-and-generic-prescription-drug-makers
