Antitrust Lawyer Blog
On Friday, September 14th, a Congressional briefing was held regarding the renegotiation of NAFTA and how certain changes under discussion could end up undermining the President’s Blueprint to lower drug prices in the United States by extending pharma monopolies. One of the provisions under discussion would increase brand-name drug exclusivity. Imposing additional brand-name drug exclusivity only keeps already high brand drug prices out of reach for patients for longer.
The panelists included representatives from Association for Accessible Medicines (Jeff Francer), Mylan (Marcie McClintic Coates), Patients for Affordable Drugs (David Mitchell), and AARP (Leigh Purvis). Watch the briefing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K3RQHB-oTE
They explained how one of most promising areas of drug research is the creation of generic biologic medicines, or biosimilars. These drugs have great potential and often offer the best treatments for serious diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and others. Yet, today, there are only four biosimilars on the market in the United States.