Jeff Bingaman: “I rise today with Senators Vitter, Merkley, and Brown of Ohio to introduce the Fair and Immediate Release of Generic…”

“I rise today with Senators Vitter, Merkley, and Brown of Ohio to introduce the Fair and Immediate Release of Generic Drugs Act of 2011. The FAIR GENERxICS Act is an important step in addressing the root cause of the growing cost of healthcare-- the delay of generic drugs entering the market. This legislation has broad support from consumer advocates, the generics industry, and experts including: AARP, Apotex generics manufacturer, Families USA, U.S. PIRG, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Center for Medicare Advocacy, the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, Alliance for Retired Americans, and Community Catalyst. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, prices for brand-name prescription drugs have continued to outpace inflation. Overall spending on prescription drugs also has increased sharply. In 2008 spending in the U.S. for prescription drugs was $234.1 billion, nearly 6 times the $40.3 billion spent in 1990. Generic drugs can be an important source of affordable prescription drugs for many Americans. On average, generic drugs are four times less expensive than name brand drugs. Pay-for-delay patent settlements brand and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers, however, are delaying timely public access to generic drugs, which costs consumers and taxpayers billions of dollars annually.…”