GPhA to President-Elect Trump: Generic Drug and Biosimilar Competition Key to Lowering Drug Prices, Expanding Access to Affordable Medicines

PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC (December 20, 2016) — The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) shares President Elect Donald J. Trump and the incoming Administration’s commitment to lowering drug costs. In a memo to the President-elect, GPhA outlines a series of solutions that the incoming president and lawmakers can embrace today to expand access and increase patient and health system savings.

“Generic and biosimilar medicines are a readymade solution to high drug costs,” said Chip Davis, President and CEO of GPhA. “Unleashing the full potential of these medicines will require a bipartisan effort that includes patients, pharmacists, doctors, payors, supply chain partners and others who rely on access to safe, effective and more affordable medicines. It is important that policymakers pursue patient-centric and market-based solutions that enhance competition and expedite generic market entry to bring down prices and improves patient access to medicines.”

Generic drugs are 89% of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 27% of total drug costs, according to the GPhA/Quintiles IMS Institute Generic Drug Savings and Access report. This means hundreds of billions in annual savings for our healthcare system, a foundation to build upon, not to inhibit or put at risk.

To that end, GPhA supports five policy prescriptions that would increase competition and make safe, effective and more affordable medicines more accessible to all Americans:

1. Promote timely access to quality affordable generic drugs that meet high standards of a streamlined development and approval process.

2. Create policies that recognize the different economic dynamics of the brand and generic markets.

3. Ensure an intellectual property framework that balances the need for innovation and robust generic competition.

4. Stop some brand companies from blocking or delaying generic drug development.

5. Increase utilization of affordable generics across all patient populations.

Read the memo here. Learn more at www.rxsolutions.us.