At a congressional hearing on Thursday, a representative of the generic drug industry stated that authorized generics--copycat drugs introduced by brand owners to compete for the market after a brand drug loses patent protection--could seriously debilitate the generic industry. Generic drug makers aren't exactly wild about this practice since it cuts into their business, but pharma companies maintain that competition drives drug prices down and allows them to compete for generic sales, which make up half of all prescriptions written each year.
Hours later, three senators proposed a bill that would limit how drug companies market authorized generics. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) along with Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) call authorized generics "wolves in sheep's clothing." Currently, a generic drug maker is allowed 180 days to sell their drug before competition kicks in, but authorized generics are allowed to compete during this time because technically they're branded drugs. The bill would ban sales of authorized generics during this time period.
- see this The Washington Post report