Posted by Michael Wonder on 30 Mar 2017
Trump FDA nominee wants lower drug costs with more generics
29 March 2017 - Copycats for complex medicines like EpiPen to be top priority.
President Donald Trump’s pick to head the U.S. FDA is among the most vigorous advocates of lowering drug costs by approving cheap generics faster, an initiative aimed directly at the profit centres of major companies.
Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA deputy commissioner, would make streamlining approvals his top priority, according to a person familiar with the administration’s thinking. He’s particularly focused on complex medications that combine old drugs with newer delivery devices, as well as those with unusually complicated formulations.
The administration could make the changes without Congress passing a law. That would allow the administration a badly needed win in the wake of its scuttled attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a centrepiece of the Trump’s campaign and the Republican agenda. But it also risks angering companies that have considerable legal firepower to defend their money-makers.
