Why was the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing Association urging people in radio ads on July 14 and 15 in the Bay Area to
Call Anna Eshoo at 800.xxx.xxxx and thank her for supporting innovative biomedical research.
?
Well guess what?
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The biotech industry scored a victory this week when a Senate committee approved a 12-year exclusivity period for biologic drugs before generic competition could hit the market.
and
The (Senate) HELP bill contains a section on follow-on biologics, establishing a regulatory pathway for generic versions of the complex drugs and setting a 12-year exclusivity period for branded biologic drugs before generic "biosimilar" competition could hit the market.
The House version doesn't contain even a placeholder for similar language.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) said she would introduce the 12-year language as an amendment during the Energy and Commerce Committee's markup this week.
sworddance's diary from June 4 shows that "Eshoo (D-Blue Cross) backs insurance companies over humans." That diary includes this list of campaign contributions from Jan 2003-Dec 2008 via Maplight:
(2nd) Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $383,129
(3rd) Health Professionals $263,925
(10th) Health Services/HMOs $79,100
(21.2%) of Total Campaign Contributions Received: $3,418,572
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is on our side:
Those who are pushing for a shorter exclusivity period, like Brown, say 12 years is economically unnecessary and too long for patients to continue shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for the drugs when a biosimilar would be cheaper. ...
Aside from fathering the original legislation to create a generic pathway for regular medications, (Rep. Henry) Waxman is now sponsoring a biosimilars bill that would set a five-year exclusivity for the initial developer.
"I know Waxman wants to get to the same place I want to," Brown said. "He knows this issue better than anyone." ...
AARP, which has been pushing for a biosimilars pathway so seniors can save money on prescriptions, wasn't pleased with the outcome in the HELP committee. ...
Despite Waxman and the president backing the shorter period, the multi-billion dollar biotech industry may be able to sway enough members of Congress to ensure that the 12-year period is included in the final healthcare reform package.
"The pharmaceutical industry, especially the biologic industry, has an awful lot of power in the halls of Congress," Brown told reporters during a Tuesday press call.
Eshoo's House website states,
On Friday, June 10, 2009, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D – CA) hosted a briefing on the cost of producing biologic drugs. At the briefing the National Venture Capital Association released a new study on cost and risks associated with biotech investment. Earlier this year, Rep. Eshoo introduced the Pathway for Biosimilars Act which ensures a process for approval of "biosimilars" or "follow-on biologics" while protecting patient health and safety, lowering health care costs, and providing adequate incentives for innovation. The bill currently has 124 bipartisan cosponsors.
How many of her Big Pharma friends were behind that briefing? How many of those 124 are Republicans and Blue Dogs?
One saving grace is that
it likely won't go over well with the committee's chairman, Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), on record as favoring a much shorter exclusivity period.
Anna Eshoo should remember the words of the late San Francisco Congressman Phil Burton, who reportedly said of lobbyists that if you can't eat their food, drink their liquor and **** their women, and then vote against them, you have no business being in the legislature.