Ad Poses the Question:

Will Congress Ignore Its Core Constituents And Settle for Phony Bio Reform?

(Washington, DC)- As the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee continues to debate biogenerics, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released a new ad today titled, “Bio-Illogic” which asks why policymakers are considering adopting the agenda of a few biotech manufacturers instead of supporting real reform. 

PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt issued the following statement on the new ad and the continuing debate:

“Beyond all the spin about health reform momentum, the biogenerics debate offers an accurate barometer of whether Washington is capable of delivering real reform or whether it will settle for phony reform or no reform at all. 

“Creating a real biogenerics pathway is one of the easier parts of broader health reform.  Done right, it will improve access to life-saving medicines and generate scoreable savings without shifting costs from one group of payers to another. Hopefully, the HELP Committee won’t allow a few powerful biotech companies to derail or neuter the kind of biologics reform called for by a broad coalition of seniors, employers, unions and consumers.

“To allow twelve or thirteen years of monopoly pricing for the world’s most expensive medicines – during a recession, no less – doesn’t fit anyone’s definition of ‘health reform.’  This is especially true considering the White House has said that even seven years would be ‘generous’ and the Federal Trade Commission believes that not even one year is necessary to protect incentives to innovate.

“If the HELP Committee is unable to produce a biologics agreement, or produces one that is clearly ineffective, the prospect for real health reform overall is, tragically, bleak indeed.”

###