Generics Lobby News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

For more, 12 years and prevailed. their argument? development takes an average of 12 years and a billion plus dollars. >> if we want people to invest in new cures for cancer and diabetes and aids and all of that, then you have to make sure that they're going have some chance to get their return on their investment. >> reporter: and keeping them honest, brand name biologics had major reinforcements to make their case. last year, pharmaceutical manufacturers spent more than $263 million in lobbying. do the math, more than $721,000 a day. in 2008, they gave $30 million in campaign contributions, ...

Bring the costs of the drugs down. to do that, the president wanted to give brand biologics exclusive rights for seven years before cheaper generics could enter the market. but the pharmaceutical industry lobbied for more, 12 years, and prevailed. their argument -- development takes an average of 12 years and $1 billion plus. >> if we want people to invest in new cures for cancer and for diabetes and for aids and all of that, then you have to make sure that they're going to have some chance to get their return on their investment. >> reporter: and keeping them honest, brand name biologics had ...

>> dana, there's no doubt that this restricts access, because some of these drugs just cost too much to people. on the flip side of that, the the argument, though, that without the ability to make a big profit on these drugs, that drug companies would have less of a motivation to research and develop, to develop new life-saving drugs. >> reporter: that is precisely what the argument that jim greenwood and pharma makes. that is the argument that they made going door to door here on capitol hill and it is the argument that prevailed. the other side, the generics lobby, and the people who were in...

Generics lobby did have powerful allies. not just the president but aarp, unions, and more. but brand name biologics outspent them and worked the system. jim greenwood isn't just the president of bio, he's a former member of congress. you're a former member of the club? >> right. >> reporter: that helps? >> well, it helps in this way. it helps -- i know what people want -- what they need, what kind of information they need before they vote. >> reporter: the result in this committee and others, many democrats voted to give brand name biologics a longer corner on the market. >> this language now...

Some of these drugs just cost too much to people. on the flip side of that, though, is the argument that without the ability to make a big profit on these drugs, that drug companies would have less of a motivation to research and develop, to develop new life-saving drugs. >> reporter: that is precisely what the argument that jim greenwood and pharma makes. that is the argument that they made going door to door here on capitol hill and it is the argument that prevailed. the other side, the generics lobby, and the people who were involved in that and support that point of view, they say that the...