Posted on 07/08/2009 7:08:14 AM PDT by greyfoxx39
President Barack Obama's ambitious health care reform could be derailed by an abstruse lobbying battle between two key White House allies: the pharmaceutical industry and the senior citizens lobby.
AARP has sided with generic drug makers against the name-brand giants on the backstage issue of biologic drugs. Biologics are prescription drugs more complex (and more expensive) than standard drugs, and they are generally derived from living matter. Examples are insulin and the anemia drug Epogen.
-SNIP
To promote innovation, the Food and Drug Administration protects ordinary drugs such as Lipitor or Viagra from competition for five years. But the FDA also provides a clear pathway for approval of generic versions once the drug's FDA exclusivity expires.
For biologic drugs, there is no generic pathway, effectively leaving name-brand biologic drug makers with perpetual monopolies.
-SNIP-
PhRMA's well-armed ally is the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO. PhRMA, BIO, and their member companies combined in 2008 to spend $101 million on lobbying.
Pharmaceutical companies provided $1 million to Obama's campaign last year, three times what they gave John McCain.
-SNIP
Democrats are now in the position of alienating the name-brand drug makers who have carried so much water for them on the health care reform debate, or the seniors who are crucial electorally.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Healthcare ping
Can’t we expect the Examiner of all outlets to stop using the word ‘reform’ in conjunction with health care?
Takeover, nationalization, socialized medicine - these are far more accurate terms of both the means and the ends.
I suppose we could hope they destroy each other.
Related???
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/07/henry-waxman-restless-leg-syndrome.html
Henry Waxman says restless legs syndrome doesn’t exist, but then...
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), looking hale and hearty after a recent hospitalization, was on C-SPAN this week describing his groggy arrival at the medical institution when someone noticed his leg jerking and asked if he had restless legs syndrome.
The obstreperous Waxman said he knew that such an ailment is yet another example of America’s greedy pharmaceutical companies creating a new disease to market new medicines for Americans to buy and swallow and pump into themselves.
(snip)
To promote innovation, the Food and Drug Administration protects ordinary drugs such as Lipitor or Viagra from competition for five years. But the FDA also provides a clear pathway for approval of generic versions once the drug’s FDA exclusivity expires.
This is not just the case with new drugs, but with any new patented product or service. Helps the business/individual who has the patent recoup their R&D costs and develop their market for a period of time.
Behold AuschwitzCare being promoted by Liberal ghouls!
That's better
I don’t care how it gets derailed I just hope it gets derailed.
LOL. I would love to see that.
OK someone explain to me why ‘Big Drugs’ gave in such high volume to the man why did little more than trash them in speech after speech???
Am I in bizzarro world yet?
Here’s hoping.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.