Interest-Group Battles of Drugs and Patents

The National Review ^ | November 13, 2002 | Doug Bandow

[weekendwarrior]

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-bandow111302.asp

November 13, 2002 Interest-Group Battles Of drugs and patents.

By Doug Bandow

Political battles always grow more brutal as Congress approaches an election. And 2002 was no exception, as public-spirited rhetoric masked intense interest-group combat. This year the battle will be unusually prolonged, carrying over into the lame-duck session.

One of the fiercest fights has been over pharmaceutical patents. The split between research and generics industries is obvious. But health insurers, which barely survived the Clinton administration's assault on their freedoms and incomes, also are targeting the major research-drug firms. The assault barely failed before Congress left town to campaign.

The issue is complex: What is the right balance between generating new products and cutting the prices of old ones? What to do with 30-day stays in patent-infringement actions and exclusive six-month sales periods for generics companies?

Current law is already the result of political compromise. Generics were a minor factor until 1984, when the Hatch-Waxman Act relaxed pharmaceutical and patent laws for generics firms but gave research enterprises added rights when filing infringement actions.