The over price of drugs due to patent manipulation.

[Eyak1971]

This article hit home when I recalled a problem I had with a drug I took while on dialysis. I had been taking a generic form of the drug for months and then I went in and it was no longer available . And the only option was a non generic at a very high price. The pharmacy had no answers why. So I did some internet research of the companies who produced the drugs. What I eventually found was patent manipulation where the patent which should have expired was renewed after adjusting terminology. In addition there seemed to have been some change of ownership of the generic producing company that affected the other company positively. Of course I had no way of really getting down to the core of the problem so I contacted my senators as well as a few government agencies. Ironically within a few months, the generic form was back on the shelf. Has anyone else been affected by price gouging due to patent manipulation?

politico.com/sponsored/2023...

[3KJP]

Hello. My Husband is the one who had a Kidney transplant, but I do a lot of research because he still works, I'm retired. He is 2 yrs 8 mos out and doing well.

I'm happy to hear you were able to make a change by writing to your Gov't agencies.

He has not had this particular issue, but from my research, pharmaceutical companies are a close second to our Gov't when it comes to running the lives of citizens. I'm not attempting to hijack your question, but these are some things that I have found that may help someone with regards to pharma control.

As you mentioned laws have been stacked against people, very ill people, because of a buried change in legal verbiage to benefit pharma. What I have found along these lines is that his pills come from various companies in various countries. When I research the companies, I find that many of the manufacturing facilities have had problems with purity and sanitary conditions. One example is Dr. Reddy's in India. It is concerning when he gets a refill and the pills look nothing like the ones he had for the last refill. It is in very small print on the rx bottle which manufacturer the pills come from.

Also, we are required to use mail order RX by our insurance. This is impossible to change or else we pay full price at a local pharmacy because of PBMs. Pharmacy Benefit Managers. If you research this it will make your head spin about how they work. It is so complicated, secretive and powerful, they are hard to reign in.

Again, I'm glad you were able to make a difference. I'm sure it benefited many people.

[Eyak1971 in reply to 3KJP]

Thanks for sharing your story. What I also found out with my research is that more private equity firms are centered on prescription drug research and development due to the big profits. This fact makes me want more government oversight but the fact that pharmaceutical lobbyist are very plentiful in Washington does have me worried. For this reason before i vote ii lways take a look at the donors for my representative and senator. To note, the non generic company that I had concerns was a French company.