Legislation introduced to combat spiralling US drugs prices

The US Senate Judiciary Committee introduced new legislation Tuesday, aimed at countering the growing issue of rising prescription drug prices in the USA and anti-competitive moves by pharmaceutical companies to delay lower-priced generic competition from entering the market.

The move introduces laws aimed at countering two key 'delaying' tactics often used by certain leading brand-name drugmakers in an alleged bid to protect their profits for as long as possible and gain maximum return on their research and development investments.

The Committee, led by Democrat Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, brought in the bipartisan Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act, which will prevent brand drugmakers from withholding the drug samples required by generic manufacturers to test for equal efficacy and safety to the original, and ultimately gain regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration.