Sen. Warren floats bill to create government-run generics manufacturing company

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will introduce new bill this week that would create a generic drug manufacturing company operated by the government. The bill comes as Warren gears up for a potential presidential run in 2020. 

Called the Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act, Warren says the measure is designed to allow more mass-produced generic drugs to enter the market and help bring down drug costs. The bill calls for the establishment of an Office of Drug Manufacturing that will be responsible for producing 15 different generics in its first year for parts of the industry that have been deemed a “failure.” Warren said that rather than creating a government takeover, the new measures would be meant to fix parts of the industry that need repair. 

The Association for Accessible Medicines, the industry’s biggest generic lobbying, said they are staunchly opposed to the measure and that the system is far from broken. 

“This legislation is an unrealistic distraction from policies that would meaningfully reduce drug prices, such as combatting patent abuse and cultivating a robust biosimilars market,” the group told POLITICO. 

The bill is not expected to pass the Republican-controlled Senate. 

Read the full POLITICO report.

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