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TIM HUTCHINSON UNITED STATES SENATOR  ARKANSAS | ||
Contact: D.J. O'Brien (202) 224-2353
July 11, 2002
Tim Hutchinson Helps Pass Measure to Improve Access to Lower-Cost Prescription Drugs
The Senate Health Committee today approved bipartisan legislation to make prescription drugs more affordable by promoting competition in the pharmaceutical industry and increasing access to lower-priced generic drugs. Senator Tim Hutchinson, who worked with his colleagues on the committee to negotiate a consensus alternative to the original drug patent bill, hailed the agreement as a positive step towards helping all Americans cope with soaring drug costs.
"There should be no greater priority on our domestic agenda than improving access to safe, affordable prescription drugs," said Hutchinson. "Every American knows that the cost of prescription drugs has skyrocketed in recent years, taking a tremendous toll on family budgets, fixed incomes for seniors, and our health care system as a whole."
"The bipartisan bill I supported today will make cost-effective generic drugs more available by closing loopholes that are delaying competition and slowing generic drugs' entry into the market. At the same time, the bipartisan amendment addresses many of the concerns I had with the original legislation, which would have undermined the competition it was seeking to promote."
The Senate Health Committee began considering S. 812, the "Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act," on July 10. This week, Hutchinson worked with his colleagues on the Committee to develop a substitute amendment that corrects many of the problems with the original bill that were evident at an April committee hearing on drug patent reforms.
The substitute amendment limits brand name manufacturers to a single 30-month stay for patents listed at the time of the brand product approval. This will eliminate the brand-name manufacturers' ability to "stack" multiple automatic stays during patent litigation in order to keep generics off the market. The bipartisan alternative also would make it harder for generic drug makers to lock in exclusive marketing rights for 180 days if a company fails to take its product to market after winning approval to compete with a brand-name drug whose patent has expired. S. 812 as originally written could have allowed generic manufacturers to freeze out competition from other generics.
"This bill will help lower the cost of medications, but the Senate must also act to create a meaningful prescription drug benefit under Medicare," said Hutchinson.
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