For Immediate Release - November 27, 2000
ROCKLAND COUNTY CONSUMERS COULD SAVE OVER $74 MILLION ON
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS UNDER NEW SCHUMER-MCCAIN BILL
Generic alternatives could save local residents over $540
annually on Claritin, according to Schumer survey
Schumer-McCain bill will encourage competition in the
pharmaceutical marketplace by leveling playing field for generic drug
makers Underscoring the need for cheaper prescription drugs, US Senator
Charles E. Schumer today released data showing that Rockland County residents
would see significant savings on their prescription drug expenses if low cost
generic alternatives were available under legislation co-authored by Schumer and
Senator John McCain (R-AZ). The Schumer-McCain bill could help save
Rockland County consumers over $74 million on their prescription drug costs over
the next ten years if passed by Congress, according to Schumer estimates based
on a study by the Prime Institute at the University of Minnesota.
Schumer surveyed local pharmacies to determine the costs of five
widely prescribed drugs and found that Rockland County residents would see
annual savings of hundreds of dollars on a number of prescriptions if generic
alternatives are available when the original patents for the brand name drugs
are due to expire. But under current law the pharmaceutical industry
regularly seizes upon loopholes to block generic drugs from entering the market.
"In 1984, Congress passed a far reaching pro-consumer law which
created a blueprint to allow less expensive generic drugs to enter the
market. In recent years, as the stakes and drug company profits have grown
larger, the lawyers have picked this law clean," said Schumer. "If this
pro-consumer law isn't dead, it's dying."
To restore the original purpose of the 1984 generic drug law, also
known as Hatch-Waxman, Schumer and McCain last month introduced the Greater
Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act (GAAP) to allow generic drug
companies to enter the market promptly after brand name company patents
expire. The bill seeks to speed the approval of generic drugs by the Food
and Drug Administration by eliminating legal hurdles and loopholes that have
nothing to do with the medication's effectiveness.
"The original law allowed brand name companies to have a set
amount of time of market exclusivity rights before a bio-equivalent generic drug
could compete on the market. But when the clock runs out, the drug company
tries to keep the generic from entering the marketplace over some frivolous
reason like the shape of the pill or the color of the bottle," said
Schumer. "It would be laughable were it not costing individual consumers
hundreds of dollars each year."
Under the Schumer-McCain legislation:
· The number of patents that a generic drug company must address
for FDA approval would be limited to two categories - how the drug works and how
it is taken. Other frivolous patent challenges on such items as the color
and shape of pills and bottles would be barred.
· It blocks brand name companies from paying generic manufacturers
to keep their product off the market. Recently, Abbott Laboratories
admitted to paying Geneva Pharmaceuticals $4.5 million a month to keep its
generic equivalent of the hypertension and prostate cancer drug Hytrin off the
market.
· It expands the FDA's jurisdiction to allow for approval of
generic versions of inhalers and topical treatments like skin ointments.
Currently, only generic oral and intravenous medications can be readily approved
by the FDA.
According to Schumer estimates based on Prime Institute findings,
if generic drugs are able to come to market as soon as brand-name patents
expire, US consumers could save $71 billion on prescription drugs over the next
10 years. The Prime Institute estimates that by the third year a generic
alternative is on the market, consumers save, on average, 60% when they choose
the generic over the name brand. In Rockland County, those savings could
mean $73.9 million for local residents over the next ten years.
In his survey of local drug costs, Schumer found that an area
resident using Prilosec, a widely-used ulcer medication, could save more than
$885 a year if a generic were available - $592 for the generic versus $1,479 for
the branded version. Instead of spending $1,413 annually on a prescription
of Zocor, a popular cholesterol medication, Rockland County residents could save
almost $850 by buying a generic version of the drug for only $565 per year.
A person taking Norvasc, a commonly prescribed drug for heart
disease, normally pays about $44.88 for a month's supply at Drug Mart in
Suffern. If a generic were available, that person would have the option of
paying an estimated $17.95 a month and would save more than $320 annually.
Similarly, a person filling a prescription of Claritin pays $79.99 a month at
CVS in Nanuet, but would have to pay only about $31.99 for a generic version,
saving more than $575 annually. Finally, a person taking Prozac for depression
who currently pays $81.50 a month at the Prescription City in Spring Valley
would only pay $32.60 for a generic alternative, saving over $585 annually.
Schumer said that an added benefit to his bipartisan bill is that
it will not get caught in the partisan battles that have doomed other efforts to
make prescription drugs more affordable.
"Over the years, every attempt to make prescription drugs more
affordable for working families has broken down over partisan or ideological
lines," said Schumer. "We are accomplishing these huge savings not by redrawing
ideological battle lines, but by restoring the intent of our patent laws."
The Schumer-McCain bill has been endorsed by the Health Insurance
Association of America (HIAA), the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Blue
Cross/Blue Shield, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, the Consumers Union,
the National Consumer League and the Alliance of Community Health Plans.
It isn't often that these groups come together to endorse a
bill. I think it means that John McCain and I are on to something pretty
special," said Schumer.
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