WASHINGTON DC (October 16, 2019) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made tremendous strides in recent years towards streamlining the approval process for high-quality and more-affordable generic drugs, and the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) and its members applaud the FDA’s staff and leadership for their work. That said, despite the FDA’s efforts, too few patients – seniors in particular – are seeing the savings that should be generated by these record numbers of approval. In particular, first-to-market generics are covered on Part D formularies less than 25 percent of the time after launch, denying patient access to lower-cost alternatives. Congress should act this year to ensure that the potential created by the FDA’s work to reduce out-of-pocket drug costs for America’s patients is fully realized.
Learn more in the AAM White Paper Access Denied: Why New Generics Are Not Reaching America's Seniors
Attribute to: Chester “Chip” Davis, Jr., AAM CEO
MEDIA CONTACT:
Rachel Schwartz
202.249.7147
About AAM
AAM is driven by the belief that access to safe, quality, effective medicine has a tremendous impact on a person’s life and the world around them. Generic and biosimilar medicines improve people’s lives, improving society and the economy in turn. AAM represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers and distributors of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry. Generic pharmaceuticals are 90 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 22 percent of total drug spending.
About the Biosimilars Council
The Biosimilars Council, a division of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), works to ensure a positive environment for patient access to biosimilar medicines. The Biosimilars Council is a leading source for information about the safety and efficacy of more affordable alternatives to costly brand biologic medicines. Areas of focus include public and health expert education, strategic partnerships, government affairs, legal affairs and regulatory policy. More information is available at www.biosimilarscouncil.org.