Chuck Schumer: “The drug company's applying for a new patent because the daily pill--same medicine--expires. The drug industry has some…”

“The drug company's applying for a new patent because the daily pill--same medicine--expires. The drug industry has some good arguments. I don't disagree with their argument that they need money for research. And these new pills have helped people. But faced with all of these blockbuster drugs that are going off patent, and the companies being so used to the high rate of return they have had--higher than any other American industry--they are pushing the envelope way too far in terms of trying to keep that level of profitability. They ought to understand--and I ask my colleague from North Dakota to comment on this--their job is to go back into the laboratories, come up with real new drugs, and work on those--not extend the patent--or, in the case of what the Senator from North Dakota has discussed, make the U.S. price above all the other prices. This involves lots of work and lots of focus. Every time I read one of these articles, it makes my blood boil. When I came here, I was not regarded as a hardliner on this issue. I have a great deal of respect for companies that research and produce these drugs.…”