PCMA supports US move to curb Citizen Petition

The US Pharmaceutical Care Management Association has expressed its support for a bipartisan attempt to close loopholes which, the group argues, allow branded drugmakers to delay the introduction of generic competition. The Lower PRICED Drugs Act, sponsored by Senators Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, Michigan) and Trent Lott (Republican, Mississippi), would reform the Public Citizen process, which has been used in recent years by some drug firms to delay applications for generic products (Marketletter July 17, 2006).

Other areas affected by the proposed legislation are limits on the delay in introducing generic drugs on the market when patents are challenged in court, as well as the provision of a mechanism for authorizing additional copycat versions of antibiotics.

The PCMA notes that the increase of generic drug prescribing is driving down the overall medication bill. The group cites a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) study, which found that the rate of drug spending growth fell by one-third to 5.8% in 2005. Among the CMS researchers' explanations for the decline in the drug inflation rate, pharmacy benefit management tools including generic drug prescribing featured prominently.