Drug Price Spikes Studied by Senate Special Committee on Aging

Have you seen the stories about the sudden increase in prices for particular drugs? That has caught the eye of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. There will be another hearing on the topic on March 17, 2016 at 10 a.m. “Senate Special Committee on Aging to hold the second hearing in a series on sudden price spikes in decades-old Rx drugs.” 

As well, last week “Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, …  introduced the Increasing Competition in Pharmaceuticals Act to help ensure that a clear process is in place for FDA to prioritize the review of generic drug applications.”  As the press release notes “the Committee’s investigation revealed that some older drugs lack an FDA-approved generic competitor.  This lack of competition is a significant contributing factor that can allow companies to acquire and sharply increase the cost of these older drugs that are no longer protected by patents.” 

The text of the bill is available here.