Congressional Republicans target generic pricing

Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House are writing legislation and planning oversight activities intended to address outrage over price increases for generic and off-patent drugs imposed by Turing Pharmaceuticals AG (Zug, Switzerland), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (TSE:VRX; NYSE:VRX) and other companies.

Republican staff of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee are working on legislation that would require FDA to prioritize review of ANDA applications for generic drugs that are only produced by one company, according to Capitol Hill sources. The committee staff is considering giving companies incentives to develop the first competitor for a generic drug that has no competition. ...