Public shaming for companies accused of blocking generics

As part of the White House's ongoing mission to reduce the cost of drugs for consumers, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has resorted to publicly shaming pharma companies who have used "game tactics" to suppress generic competition to their branded products.

"Today, we're making public a list of companies that have potentially been blocking access to the samples of their branded products," Dr Gottlieb said in a statement. "We hope that this increased transparency will help reduce unnecessary hurdles to generic drug development and approva.l"

Transparency in this case takes the form of a long list of drugs — 52 in total — which generics manufacturers have encountered problems with during attempts to manufacture alternatives, with the brand manufacturer's names alongside.