To the Point
While Congress Fiddles, Big Pharma Is in for Big Changes
Efforts to avert an unprecedented economic crisis. Also, expiring patents on prescription drugs will have a major impact on the pharmaceutical industry and US consumers.
By Warren Olney • • 50m ListenThe debt limit deadline is Tuesday, and Washington is a weekend away from a spending and deficit bill acceptable to both parties. We update last-minute efforts to avert an unprecedented economic crisis.
Also, a wave of expiring patents on prescription drugs will have a major impact on the pharmaceutical industry and on US consumers. Prices for Lipitor and Plavix alone may drop by 80 percent, great for both employers and workers. But where will the money to invent new medications come from? We hear how the drug industry gets multiple patents on a single drug and "pays for delay" to hold off generic replacements.
Banner image: Pam Harvey fills a prescription at Adams Discount Pharmacy in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images
In this episode
2 storiesPresident Obama Urges Compromise…Again
In the absence of legislation to hold off a debt-ceiling crisis, President Obama said today the issue's more urgent than ever, and repeated his call for Americans to demand action.
Read the story24 minExpiring Patents, Drug Prices and the Hazy Market for Generics
Patents are about to expire on two of the world's best-selling prescription drugs. Prices for cholesterol-fighter Lipitor and the blood-thinner Plavix are likely to drop by 80 percent when they're replaced by generics. But that's not all. The drug industry will be faced with an unprecedented wave of expiring patents in the next few years.
Read the story27 min