Since my son has Crohn's disease, I thought I would pass this on especially to NC DU'ers

[mmonk]

From an email I received today. I can't make it but if anyone can swing over there, do it.


Dear Michael,

This afternoon, medical students will rally outside Senator Kay Hagan's Raleigh office in opposition to her protection of the insurance industry's monopoly on life-saving drugs. These medical students from North Carolina universities are passionate about life-saving drugs called "biologics" that currently cost up to $50,000 a year - something most patients just can't afford.

Kay Hagan wants to make sure people with breast cancer, Crohn's disease, and other serious conditions don't ever have access to "generic" versions of these drugs that can save their lives. That isn't right.
Join these medical students TODAY to give out "treats" outside Hagan's office and urge Hagan not to "trick" the nation's patients with her bad 'biologic' medicines proposal.

Date: Friday, October 30, 2009
Time: 1:10pm - 3:00pm
Location: Sidewalk in front of Sen. Kay Hagan's office
Street: 310 New Bern Ave
City: Raleigh, NC

You can RSVP on Facebook, or just meet this afternoon.
Thanks so much.

Jane Hamsher
Public Option Please

[LynneSin]

1. Biologics do not have to be a part of the Health Care Reform

This bill is massive, still might not pass. Why can't we treat biologics like Stem Cell reseach and create it as it's own bill that won't be mired in all this other negativity.

I'm not nay-saying biologics, it's just that there is no way to include everything in HCR but it's not like we'll never ever have debate on healthcare again after we're done with Reform.

[mmonk]

2. I don't view life saving drugs quite the same way.

I don't see why drugs have to be separated out from health care reform.

[LynneSin]

5. Because then we wouldn't get close to passing this for the next 30 years

Because every group would be in there getting their piece of the pie - some legitimate groups (like Biologics) and some borderline.

And if we spent all this time giving the floor to every special interest group AND the bill fails, then we've lost alot. Wouldn't it be better that biologics be considered under their own merits as oppose to a bloated bill that has about half of congress threatening to oppose?

If Biologics do work, they have powerful lobbyists that will fight the pharms including American Cancer Society, Susan G. Korman, JDF and many other groups with vested interest in this new technology.

[sandnsea]

7. They should fight for an amendment

But not do it by saying the bill is going to kill cancer patients. That is just irresponsible because if that takes hold and kills the entire bill, then what about everybody else who is going to die. I just don't understand this kind of thinking.

[slipslidingaway]

9. As I just posted to you in another thread, this is about something IN the proposed...

legislation, not something that has been left OUT.

People need to understand that.

Data exclusivity amendment and this has nothing to do with patents.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=data+exclusivity+amendment&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

[sandnsea]

15. It's not worth killing health care reform over

We can fight for an amendment without killing the whole bill.

[slipslidingaway]

16. Sorry, I do not know what you are talking about...fight for what amendment? n/t

[sandnsea]

18. To change the patent provisions

It's wrong to say the health care bill is going to kill cancer patients. It's actually going to save an enormous number of lives. The patent provisions are wrong, but amendments to change them can be fought for without sabatoging the entire bill. I thought the left were supposed to be above manipulative rhetoric.

[slipslidingaway]

19. Take the data exclusivity amendments out of the bill, do you really think that once...

they are in place Congress will turn around and remove them at a later date?

Sorry this has to be dealt with now IMO.

[sandnsea]

20. So get someone to write an Amendment

And promote the passage of that instead of the destruction of the entire bill.

[slipslidingaway]

23. The data exclusivity period of 12 years was just added to the bill in committee...

guess someone should have turned around right away and offered an amendment to cancel the prior amendment.

:shrug:

[Barack_America]

11. I believe this term also refers to antibody-based drugs.

Like Rituxan, which happens to be a Crohn's therapy. Not just more experimental technologies like stem cells.

Such drugs are therapeutic, not produced for research purposes.

My father, for one, would not be alive right now if it weren't for Rituxan.

[mullard12ax7]

3. What a doom and gloomer! Cheer up, colorful graphic are really pretty!

Plus, why do all those people hate America? Seriously, I'm surprised you're not getting bashed all over the place for posting this tidbit of reality.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. I'm sorry you didn't get this posted sooner -

the meeting was 1-3, but I didn't see it here until 3:40.

Sorry.

[mmonk]

6. Yes, I posted late.

I'm sorry.

[slipslidingaway]

8. Just giving a knr to highlight the importance :) n/t

[mmonk]

10. Thanks. That's all it's good for now. However, it is a very important issue.

[slipslidingaway]

12. You're welcome and I agree it is very important, although it appears the issue...

is being confused. In addition these amendments have been part of the House and Senate bills since July, glad to see they are finally being discussed.

They should take these out of the HC reform bills and if they want to give them extra time to keep the data exclusive, let it stand on it's own merit.

;-)

I first read about it in the link below when the HELP committee approved the amendment.


http://pnhp.org/blog/2009/07/14/senate-help-amendment-on-data-exclusivity/

"Sen. Tom Harkin: Keep in mind what we’re talking about here. We’re not talking about patents. Everybody gets a 20 year patent… What we’re talking about here is data, data exclusivity… How do you get that data? You get it through FDA supervised trials… Where do they do those clinical trials? Academic health centers. Who supports academic health centers? Our taxpayers… When should that data be released so that another company out there, some other entrepreneurs, can look at the data and say… I’ll bet if we changed this and did this, we might come up with a new formulation that might actually help something else. They’re still going to have to go through their clinical trials… At least they’ll be able to look at the data. If you don’t do that that means that the company can sit on that data for 12 years. Then they let the data out. Clinical trials will take another 7 years or more, so you’re going to have at least a whole 20 year run in there… before anyone can ever surface with anything even comparable to what that drug or that biologic is...


Sen. Bernie Sanders: Let’s find out why year after year the drug companies make hugh profits, look at why the drug companies have never once, to the best of my knowledge, have never lost a political debate here in Congress… (medicine) doesn’t do anybody any good if they can’t afford it. I think for year after year we’ve been paying a lot of attention to our friends in PhRMA, who are spending, I don’t know what they spend in lobbying and campaign contributions, a whole lot of money. Maybe it’s time that we start worrying about the people who have to pay for this medicine..."

[slipslidingaway]

13. A recent article on the subject...

How Drug-Industry Lobbyists Got Their Way on Health Care
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1931595-2,00.html

[mmonk]

14. Thanks.

[slipslidingaway]

17. :) n/t

[flyarm]

21. Incredible article..thank you and then of course there is Jane Hamsher's article

for those that missed it:

Jane Hamsher: House Health Care Bill: A Death Sentence For My Fellow Breast Cancer Survivors



http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/10/29/house-health-care-bill-a-death-sentence-for-my-fellow-breast-cancer-survivors/

[slipslidingaway]

22. You're welcome, at least the issue is finally getting attention! n/t