WAXMAN PLANS THREE HEARINGS

The US House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, chaired by Representative Henry Waxman, is scheduled to hold three hearings over the next few months in order to investigate issues related to prescription drug pricing and profits.

The first hearing will be on February 18, dealing with the issue of International Prescription Drug Prices. Based on a two-year study which is currently underway by the General Accounting Office, comparing drug prices in the USA with those in Canada and some European countries, the hearing will examine the study's preliminary findings, published by the GAO in third-quarter 1992, on drug pricing in Canada. It will also look at the mechanisms used by other countries to control prescription drug prices.

On March 4, the subcommittee will examine Prescription Drug Price Research Costs and Profits. At the hearing, the Office of Technology Assessment is due to release its report on government policies and pharmaceutical R&D, which was originally scheduled to have been published in 1991, and the meeting will discuss issues related to the costs of developing prescription drugs and to the profits which they provide.