Source: Washington Post
The "big money" drug companies will do anything in their power to stop drugs like Zocor and Pravachol, the anti-depressant Zoloft, and the prostate medication Proscar from going off patent by 2010 because they don't want to see low-cost generics since they can't reap the benefits.
Nevermind the fact that many seniors and low-income families struggle to get the very medicines they need to have a decent life minus pain.
Or for that matter, don't forget the Medicare prescription plan that was recently revised, written by the drug companies themselves, is often confusing, and doesn't cover many drugs needed by patients.
This helps people how?
The brand-name drug industry is aggressively working to keep blockbuster drugs widely used by the elderly from being sold in cheaper generic versions when their patents expire, the organization that represents pharmacy benefit managers said yesterday.
With an unprecedented number of top-selling drugs scheduled to go off patent within five years, the organization said, branded drug companies are constructing roadblocks to potential savings of $23 billion to seniors and the Medicare system.
"There's an agenda to prevent generics from getting to the market as soon as they could," said Mark Merritt, president of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, which conducted the study. The association represents companies that administer prescription drug plans for employers and government programs.
"If they succeed," Merritt said, brand-name drug companies "could reduce the savings significantly."
This country just doesn't care about its seniors or its younger, ill citizens.
Well, let me rephrase that: the politicians will be the senior voting block's "best friend" come November 2nd, but after the election--seniors, please wither away and die.
Congress has pretty much sold its soul to big businesses like the drug industry, and good, decent people are suffering because of it.
Allowing the drug companies to change patent law to make it impossible for generics drugs to make it to market could be bad for several reasons.
Many on low incomes can only afford generic drugs and often resort to things like skipping meds or cutting them in half to make them last longer.
(On a personal note, I have two grandparents both in their late 60s, so I have seen this practice first-hand, and it pains me to watch them make this hard choice.)
Developing countries and third-world nations like Africa rely on generic drugs to help millions. Disallowing the production of these generic drugs is the equivalent of signing the death warrants of the elderly, the poor, and those in 3rd world countries.
I'm still waiting for that happy drug commercial.
Tags: [brand-name drug companies], [brand-name drug industry making it difficult for people to get generic drugs], [drug companies pushing for change to patent laws], [once again, no one seems to give a damn about the elderly or the sick here in America]
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