WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) held a hearing today titled “H.R. 1902, the Protecting Consumer Access to Generic Drugs Act” that focused on saving consumers money on prescription drugs.

   “Today’s hearing focuses on an alarming practice in the pharmaceutical industry that is costing American consumers billions of dollars. Brand name drug companies are paying generic drug companies to stay off the market,” said Rep. Rush, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. “They are denying consumers the considerable savings they should otherwise receive from generic competition in their prescription drug costs.”

The proposed legislative solution will focus on “reverse consideration” or “exclusive payments” in patent legal settlements between brand name and generic drug companies. The intent of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is to promote aggressive generic entry into the marketplace in order to provide consumers with considerable savings in their prescription drug costs.

“Recent court cases have made it more difficult to bring antitrust cases to stop exclusion payment settlements between brand manufacturers and their generic competitors,” said FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz. “The impact of the court rulings is becoming evident in the marketplace.”

As a result of anti-competitive collusion, however, abetween brand-name and generic pharmaceutical companies, the intent of Hatch-Waxman is being undermined. Consumers are not reaping the full rewards of robust generic competition because many brand-name and generic drug companies are exploiting the unique regulatory framework of Hatch-Waxman nd have entered into legal agreements that delay the early entry of competitive drug products.

 “As Chairman of this subcommittee, I intend for this hearing to serve as a serious policy discussion and as a first step towards correcting a market failure that is costing American consumers billions of dollars in prescription drug costs,” said Rush.