Delaying Generic Drugs Costs Patients & Taxpayers, EU Says - Health Blog - WSJ

Delaying Generic Drugs Costs Patients & Taxpayers, EU Says - Health Blog - WSJ: "By Shirley S. Wang EUA European Union probe to investigate delays to market entry of generic drugs started with a big bang last year with surprise raids on offices of a number of major pharmaceutical companies, like GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis and AstraZeneca, as well as many smaller ones. Today, the EU’s competition commissioner, in issuing a final report from the investigation, called for closer scrutiny and stricter regulation of the the pharmaceutical industry, particularly the practice known as “pay for delay“, where generic makers strike a deal with branded companies to delay entry of generic competition into the marketplace. The report emphasizes that drug makers, difficulties in innovation and other factors like how the industry is regulated all contribute to generic delays. It calls for a single patent and litigation system across the EU as one way to improve the situation." Click the link above for complete post