US Senators question Pfizer deals to limit access to generic Lipitor

Three prominent US Senators have sent letters to pharma behemoth Pfizer (NYSE: PF), as well as three companies that manage pharmaceutical benefits and two insurance firms, asking for information about agreements aimed at limiting the sale of atorvastatin, the generic equivalent of Pfizer’s drug Lipitor, which lost patent protection in the USA on Wednesday. So-called “authorized” copy versions - with 180 days of market exclusivity - of the all-time blockbuster cholesterol lowerer have already been launched by Watson Pharmaceuticals and Ranbaxy Laboratories (The Pharma Letter December 1).

The letters, from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (Democrat, Montana), senior Finance Committee member Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) and Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (Democrat, Wisconsin), were sent after a news report alleged Pfizer agreed to provide discounts to pharmaceutical benefit management companies (PBMs) and insurance companies if the PBMs and the insurers would block prescriptions for Lipitor’s generic equivalent. In letters sent to Pfizer, PBMs Medco, Express Scripts, and Catalyst RX and insurance companies Coventry Health Care and UnitedHealth, the Senators expressed concern these arrangements will hinder access to generic drugs today and in the future.

“We need to do all we can to preserve access to the generic drugs that so are critical to seniors and millions of Americans across the country. Patients and their families depend on generic drugs and they can’t afford to see these generics pushed out of the market,” Sen Baucus said, adding: “By working with manufacturers to push brand-name drugs, drug benefit companies may be abusing Medicare to boost their profits and denying generic alternatives to patients - a practice that needs to end immediately. We need to take a close look to ensure we’re protecting both taxpayer dollars and access to the medicine patients need.”