AARP Urges Congress to Act on Generic Biologic Drugs
June 1, 2007
Congress is now considering the "Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act of 2007," (S. 623/H.R. 1038) a bill that would allow the FDA to establish a process to approve generic biologic drugs and potentially save patients and programs like Medicare and Medicaid billions of dollars a year. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee is expected to vote on the bill in June.
AARP staff and volunteers are visiting committee members' offices this week to express AARP's support of the legislation and encourage Senators to vote in favor of the bill.
Biologics are becoming an increasingly common form of drug treatment therapy for some of the most serious illnesses. Millions of Americans depend on biologic therapies on a daily basis for their health and well-being. However, many biologics are prohibitively expensive. For example, Epogen, a drug used to treat anemia, can cost over $5,000 per year and biologic treatments used to fight some forms of cancer can cost as much as $100,000 a year. The Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act would enable the FDA to establish a process for the approval of safe, lower cost, comparable, and generic versions of biologic drugs.
Generic biologic drugs would not only increase access to these life-sustaining drugs, but have potential to save consumers, employers, and state and federal governments billions of dollars. AARP strongly supports the Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act as a way to put an end to the drug industry's monopoly pricing power over these cutting edge biologic drugs. In the next couple weeks, we'll tell you more about the upcoming committee vote and how you can make your voice heard on this issue.
