According to a report in Pharmtech.com:
“The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), an organization that represents the nation's leading pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for over 210 million Americans, released a new white paper investigating FDA’s influence on drug prices and competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace. The PCMA argues that competition within branded drugs is undervalued in FDA priorities and that FDA’s structures and regulations fundamentally hinder competition.”
The report's bias and ignorance can be summed up via this segment, “Without a statutory and regulatory agenda for the FDA that carefully examines the agency’s effect on pharmaceutical competition, some consumer welfare may be unnecessarily lost.”
Note to PCMA -- the FDA does not factor issues such as "competition" into it's regulatory calculations. Facts cannot be ignored because they are inconvenient.
The report takes specific aim at the FDA’s biosimilar pathway development process, stating that the delay in final guidance has “thwarted the development of a U.S. biosimilars industry—thus preventing the savings that competition would generate.” The report also calls out nomenclature issue for biosimilars as a potential impediment to the utilization of these products, and could also reduce the probability that drug makers would pursue a biosimilar for a product.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
Wrong that guidance should be rushed. (Isn’t it more important to get it right?) Wrong that discrete nomenclature will in any way deter use. (Isn’t it more important to ensure safety?) Wrong that manufacturers will decide to walk away because “it’s hard.” (Isn’t that table stakes?)
Speaking of transparency, it’s important to note that PBMs, such as Express Scripts, have a vested interest in keeping drug costs low. The PBM industry has largely supported the biosimilar movement from an early stage, as their utilization could produce an estimated 15% to 20% savings from innovator drug prices. This white paper screams, “cost over care.” According to Express Scripts President George Paz, “The cheapest drugs is (sic) where we make our profits.” (In 2008, Express Scripts agreed to pay $9.3 million to 28 states and $200,000 in reimbursement to consumers to settle lawsuits that accused the company of deceptive business practices in allegedly overstating the economic benefits to consumers of switching to certain drugs.)
Here’s the conclusion of the PharmaTech article:
“I believe the intent of Congress in providing a biosimilar pathway is to allow greater access through increased competition,” Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and former FDA associate commissioner, told BioPharm International in a call. “The FDA’s job is to provide a pathway that’s transparent and predictable to allow enough companies to get into the game. If FDA doesn’t do that, it isn’t fully representing the intent of the legislation.”
Pitts believes FDA is doing the best job that it can, given the circumstances. “The creation of biosimilar regulations has to be a thoughtful and evolutionary process. The agency wants to make sure it’s as comprehensive as possible to create a level playing field.” Pitts adds, “The same proposition to transparency is relevant to nonbiologic, complex drugs as well, such as Lovenox.”
The complete PharmaTech article can be found here.
