Congress will not legislate generic biotech medications

WASHINGTON Generic biotech medications will not be included in the upcoming drug safety legislation in the U.S. Congress later this month, Reuters reported. According to aides to lawmakers from both chambers, the opposition is coming from House members, who want to hold more hearings to give the issue a closer look.

The provision on generics is “off the table,” Michael Mahaffey, a spokesman for the Senate health committee Republicans, said in an interview, Bloomberg reported. “There’s a widespread general agreement that’s something they’d take up another time.”

Sales of biotech drugs were more than $40 billion last year, according to IMS Health. Generic competition may cut the price of the medicines by a third, analysts say.