Drug Companies Back Again to Protect Patents for Biologics and Insulin
SB 147, as heard by the Senate Health Committee, would lift an expiration date on a law that restricts pharmacists’ ability to prescribe biosimilars, or generic alternatives to complex biological drugs. The bill also expands that law to include insulin. California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a very similar law, citing increased costs to state-purchased health plans.
Like a clump of Scotch broom sprouting each year on Oregon hillsides no matter how many times it gets pulled, the pharmaceutical companies are repeating their efforts from past sessions to restrict the ability of pharmacists to dispense generic or “biosimilar” alternatives to so-called biological
