In a speech on the Senate floor, Senator Collins said, "This legislation will make prescription drugs more affordable by promoting competition in the pharmaceutical industry to increase access to lower-prices generic drugs, while still protecting innovation and preserving incentive for companies to make the investments necessary to develop newer, better, and safer drugs."
The Senator explained that prescription drug spending in the United States has increased by 92 percent over the past five years. "These soaring costs are a particular burden for the millions of uninsured Americans, as well as for those seniors on Medicare who lack prescription drug coverage. Many of these individuals are simply priced out of the market, or forced to choose between paying bills or buying the pills that keep them healthy," she added.
At issue is a 1984 law that provides incentives for drug manufactures to invest in research and development of new drugs by protecting them from generic drugs entering the market too rapidly. Loopholes in the law, however, have permitted many of these giant pharmaceutical companies to file frivolous patents against a generic drug manufacturer after a patent has expired. These lawsuits are causing years of delay for a generic drug to be available to consumers.
During her speech, Senator Collins cited the example of Bristol Myers Squibb's successful attempt at delaying a generic version of the cancer treatment, Platinol by filing a patent on the brown bottle in which it was packaged.
The legislation approved today by the US Senate will close loopholes in the law to enable generic drugs to be available to Americans more rapidly.
Senator Collins was a chief sponsor of similar legislation that was approved by the Senate last year but stalled in the US House.
"This legislation ensures continuing innovation while more rapidly making vital drugs more affordable to people who need them. It is my hope that the US House acts on this bill as soon as possible."