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TRANSCRIPT
From the Pittsburgh Business Times
:http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/the-
pulse/2014/11/pharmacist-condemns-generic-price-increases.html
Pharmacist condemns generic price increases
Nov 21, 2014, 3:33pm EST
Kris B. MamulaReporter- Pittsburgh Business TimesEmail | Twitter
Only generic drug makers are benefitting from the run-up in generic medications, a Pennsylvania pharmacist testified Thursday at a hearing in Washington, D.C.
Rob Frankil of Sellersville Pharmacy near Philadelphia said the reasons behind the increase in drug prices include shortages of raw materials, consolidation in the industry, and fewer manufacturers. The result is skyrocketing prices on medications that had been a money-saving strategy for consumers in the past.
"What we're seeing across the board in dozens of products are increases as much as 8,000 percent," he said Friday. "Increases of 1,000 percent are not uncommon."
"My prices increase increase astronomically overnight and usually without warning."
Frankil testified on behalf of the National Community Pharmacists Association at a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging. The sudden price increases have prompted a Department of Justice investigation, according to the Wall
Street Journal.
Locally, officials at Canonsburg generic giant Mylan Inc. were not immediately available.
A crackdown on foreign generic drug makers by the Food and Drug Administration
has resulted in domestic manufacturers filling in the gap, according to a new analysis by Frost & Sullivan Life Sciences Industry Manager Siddharth Dutta. Recent mergers reduced market competition, "giving breathers to big players," he wrote. "Monopoly was anticipated sooner or later."
Dutta said that more than 12,000 generic drugs have risen dramatically in price during the past 18 months. The result: U.S. patients with prescription co-payments or who pay out-of-pocket for medications are being hardest hit, Dutta said.
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"The federal government or FDA may take measures regarding price regulation, but sooner or later, the gap between expensive branded drugs and affordable low-cost generics will reduce," Dutta wrote. "Insurance companies may need to rework their strategies for the U.S. market."
Kris Mamula covers health care, insurance and employee benefits for the Pittsburgh Business Times. Contact him at [email protected] or 412-208-3825.
Page 2 of 2Pharmacists condemn generic price increases - Pittsburgh Business Times
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