Pfizer chairman backs biologic drug generics
With Pfizer Inc. about to acquire rival drug maker Wyeth and its expertise in making pricey and complex biologic drugs, Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler strongly supports allowing generic versions of them.
"Done right, with regard to the safety of the products, biological follow-ons are a very appropriate thing to do," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Top drug makers are piling into this area because biologic drugs, made in living cells, can cost $1,000 and more per month and so far haven’t faced lower-price generic competitors. But legislation was introduced last week to create a pathway for regulators to approve what have been called "biosimilar" drugs, and President Barack Obama has been touting the idea as one way to control health care costs.
Kindler said Pfizer’s increasing expertise in the area "could provide us with an opportunity to make biologic follow-ons" of its own, Wyeth’s and possibly rivals’ biotech drugs.
He also backs government-sponsored research comparing drug effectiveness, unlike many in his industry concerned that could cut into sales.
Kindler called it "an area with a lot of promise, if it’s done right," openly, and not "driven entirely by cost considerations but rather by considerations of value."
His somewhat contrarian views come as the drug industry is in upheaval, forced to slash jobs and other costs as a tidal wave of generic competition to 1990s’ blockbuster pills cuts revenue while research operations aren’t producing nearly enough replacements payday loans. Those two trends are behind the recent flurry of mergers, including Pfizer’s.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is promising to revamp the nation’s health care system to help the 48 million Americans without health insurance. Such an overhaul could boost drug sales if millions more people get insured but could hurt drug makers if they lose pricing power.
Kindler was the only chief executive from the drug industry at the White House summit on health care reform two weeks ago.
"We have an obligation as an industry to participate (in reform) and try to contribute to the solution of these problems," said Kindler.
Among other changes, he supports more emphasis on preventive care, expanding government insurance and having an independent federal board oversee standards, coverage and pricing. And Kindler says it makes more sense to support beneficial changes than just to block ones the industry doesn’t like.
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Filed under: legal by Finance Boss