Orrin Hatch: “I believe that the original Schumer-McCain bill was a bill that did not improve the Hatch-Waxman Act which was enacted…”

“I believe that the original Schumer-McCain bill was a bill that did not improve the Hatch-Waxman Act which was enacted in 1984. Of course, over the course of the last 18 years, it has been recognized as a very highly respected consumer protection law. The reason is because that law has saved consumers between $8 billion and $10 billion every year since 1984--over the last 18 years. The reason it has saved them so much money is that it is a delicately balanced bill between the pioneer companies, that is, the large pharmaceutical companies, and the generic drug industry. When we passed Hatch-Waxman, the generic industry had about 15 percent of the total drug business in this country. Today it has close to 50 percent. That is because of that delicate balance achieved through the Hatch-Waxman law. And I see that this underlying bill may very well disturb that delicate balance and disrupt a law that has worked well for consumers for many years.”