Copyright 2000 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
July 5, 2000, Wednesday, FIVE STAR LIFT
EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL, Pg. B6
LENGTH: 414 words
HEADLINE:
THE SENATOR FROM CLARITIN
BODY:
PATENT PROTECTION
CONGRESS wants to do something
about the unconscionable cost of prescription medicine: Increase it.
Legislation now pending would extend by three years Schering-Plough's
20-year patent on the popular allergy medication Claritin and
seven other drugs. That means less expensive generic versions
couldn't be sold, so consumers would pony up an additional $ 11 billion over the
next five years.
You certainly can't blame Schering-Plough for trying.
Claritin, which reportedly sells for $ 2.66 a pill -- so much some insurance
plans won't pay for it -- is a blockbuster drug for the
company. Schering-Plough argues it needs the extension because
it waited years for FDA approval. The company can expect to earn $ 5 million a
day on Claritin sales if the bill is passed. So far, it has spent a
comparatively paltry $ 8.5 million in political donations and lobbying fees this
year.
Of that amount, $ 50,000 went to the Ashcroft Victory Committee, a
joint fund-raising committee set up by Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft and the
National Republican Senatorial Committee. By remarkable coincidence, Mr.
Ashcroft is a co-sponsor of the bill, which his campaign spokesman characterized
as "meritorious."
But the Senator from Claritin is not alone in backing
this odious bill. He has plenty of company on both sides of the aisle. Locally,
Illinois Rep. Henry Hyde and Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt are co-sponsors in the
House, as was, until recently, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson. Nor is Schering-Plough the
only company bellied up to the public trough. Columbia University is seeking
similar patent extensions on drugs developed
there.
As with many other corporate welfare bills, the
patent protection act surfaced so quietly that an early version
was circulated without identifying the legislation's author. Only after the
Seniors Coalition ran newspaper ads offering $ 1,000 to anyone who could name
"Senator Anonymous" did the author's identity come to light. Even then, Sen.
Orrin Hatch -- who originally denied he was behind the effort -- blamed members
of his staff for circulating the proposal. Mr. Hatch, who campaigned for
president on a Schering-Plough corporate jet, insisted he never could have
supported the proposal drafted by his staff.
If nothing else, this
episode proves that Claritin is represented by the same number of U.S. Senators
as Missouri. The question, teary-eyed Midwestern allergy sufferers should be
asking is, "Who represents us?"
LOAD-DATE: July 5, 2000
