Thursday, May 30, 2002

The nation's largest seniors group is joining three lawsuits that accuse drug makers of illegally blocking the availability of generics.

The move is part of a broader effort by the AARP to attack the pharmaceutical industry's pricing practices. The group also is lobbying Congress and recently launched a $10 million ad campaign focusing on drugs and drug pricing.

The AARP initiative comes as groups across the political and social spectrum are clamoring for something to be done about the soaring cost of medicine.

"Generic drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration give consumers quality alternatives at reasonable prices," AARP Chief Executive Bill Novelli said. "Our aim is to help people get affordable access to the drugs they need."

An estimated 40 million seniors lack prescription drug coverage. The AARP, citing government data, said spending for brand-name drugs tripled in the past decade, to $121.8 billion in 2000. Generics can cost up to 50 percent less than brand-name drugs.

Jeff Trewhitt, a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, defended the so-called brand-name industry.

Since 1984, when the laws were changed, some 8,000 generic drugs have been approved, and patent disputes arose in only 475 cases, he said. Generic drugs now account for 49 percent of all prescriptions, up from 19 percent in 1984.

With 35 million members, the AARP brings some muscle to the issue.

It recently stepped up its efforts to convince Washington that Medicare, the federal insurance program for the elderly and disabled, should include insurance coverage. By joining the lawsuits, the AARP is taking a more aggressive posture.

Each of the lawsuits contends that drug makers abused patent laws. A suit against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. alleges patent laws were abused to extend protection of its BuSpar anxiety pill.

Another lawsuit charges AstraZeneca Plc and Barr Laboratories Inc., a generic maker, with conspiring to keep a generic version of an AstraZeneca breast-cancer treatment off the market.

The third lawsuit was filed against Schering-Plough Corp., Wyeth and Upsher-Smith Laboratories for allegedly conspiring to prevent a generic version of Schering-Plough's K-Dur 20, a blood pressure medicine, from reaching the market.

AARP is joining the Prescription Access Litigation Project, a consortium of consumer groups, in the lawsuits. AARP already is involved in a state-court action against drug makers, but this marks the first time the seniors group has joined federal anti-trust litigation.

Historically, when a generic drug enters the market after the original manufacturer's patent has expired, it is sold for about 70 percent of the cost of the brand name drug. Subsequent versions are about half that cost or less, and generics typically fill about 90 percent of demand.

The FTC is also conducting a broader investigation of practices in the pharmaceutical industry to see if anticompetitive tactics are widespread.