Wednesday, March 30, 2005

ndustry Aims to Defeat Discount Drug Initiatives

Facing pressure from many states to provide cheaper prescription drugs, the pharmaceutical industry has launched its most aggressive counterattack in California, where the issue is threatening to explode on the ballot as early as this fall.
The industry already has raised an unprecedented $8.6 million to defeat a ballot initiative being readied by Health Access California, an Oakland-based nonprofit, even before the authors have gathered enough signatures to qualify it for the next election.
The Health Access measure would compel drug makers to offer discounts to 6 million to 10 million Californians — making a substantial dent in the industry's profits and offering what it considers an unwelcome model for other states to follow.
The companies are treating that approach, which is paralleled by Democratic legislation pending in the state Assembly, as far graver than last year's press to allow the importation of Canadian drugs.

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