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Hatch to consider biological generics

March 7, 2001 8:00 AM UTC

Fundamental laws governing pharmaceutical intellectual property rights should be reviewed, and the review should consider the possibility of opening biologics to generic competition, Orin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting of the Federalist Society, a group of conservative and libertarian legal scholars, Hatch said that he will try to negotiate compromises among the biotech, pharmaceutical and generic industries to modernize the Hatch-Waxman Act. The act grants drug companies five years of market exclusivity for innovative products and facilitates the rapid approval of generic versions of off-patent drugs. ...