Maybe that's why the market is tanking.
"Obama backing generic biologics" by Lisa Wangsness and Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | February 26, 2009
WASHINGTON - President Obama's budget would pave the way for government to approve generic versions of biologic drugs, an administration official said yesterday, a move that could save taxpayers, insurers, and patients billions on the world's most expensive drugs but could hurt profits of some Massachusetts biotechs.
The budget, which will be released today, will remove barriers to creating generic biologics, said an administration official. The money the federal government would save from biogenerics would help pay for a major overhaul of the nation's healthcare system the president has promised to enact this year....
But biotechnology companies have fought to keep a monopoly on their drugs for at least 14 years. They say they need that amount of time in order to ensure a return on the significant investment required to develop biologics. Companies also fear patents will not fully protect biologics since competitors could make a similar molecule that may not be covered by the patent.
Yeah, even though "it's never been easy to turn a profit in biotech?"
Flush that money away, too, taxpayer.
Massachusetts boasts one of the world's biggest biotech centers, with dozens of companies developing biologics.
I'm NOT PROUD at all!!
Several, including Genzyme Corp. and Biogen Idec Inc., already have significant drugs on the market that generate billions of dollars in annual sales.
Do yourself a treat, readers: type in Genzyme and Biogen separately into my blog search and see what killer poisons come up.
But biotech executives warn that if Congress makes it too easy for generic drug companies to introduce competitors, it could cripple their revenue and discourage them from investing billions of dollars to develop new life-saving therapies.
Except they ARE NOT LIFE-SAVING REMEDIES -- they are POISONOUS KILLERS that are KEEPING YOU SICK (from the biggest drug-dealers in the world, and it's all legal)!
Still, at least one Massachusetts company, Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, could potentially benefit from the legislation, because it is helping some partners develop copies of biologics for other countries.
Representatives from the biotechnology industry could not be reached last night, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents the broader drug industry, said it would withhold comment on specific aspects of the budget until they were officially released. But....
That's when I stopped!
I am SO SICK of seeing WORDS LIKE THESE in my "newspaper."
And that is not the only special interest he'll be pissing off.
"Budget would reserve $634b for healthcare; Obama signals he will work with Congress" by Ceci Connolly, Washington Post | February 26, 2009
WASHINGTON - President Obama intends to release a budget today that would create a 10-year, $634 billion reserve fund as a down payment on a vast expansion of the US healthcare system, an overhaul expected to cost as much as $1 trillion over the next decade.
Obama would pay for the expansion by trimming tax breaks for the wealthy and tightening payments to insurers, hospitals, and physicians, according to a senior administration official....
Sure making friends fast, 'bamer.
Under the Obama budget blueprint, about half of the new "healthcare reserve fund" would come by limiting the tax break on itemized deductions for families with incomes above $250,000....
They ain't gonna like that, and they usually sic their agenda-pushing, opinion-making media on guys like that. Bill Clinton comes to mind.
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Nearly one-third of the reserve fund would be generated by forcing private insurers who sell Medicare managed care plans to undergo a competitive bidding process. Currently, the government pays the plans, known as Medicare Advantage, about 14 percent more than traditional fee-for-service Medicare coverage, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
WTF? They are just GOUGING US, aren't they?
Drug manufacturers and hospitals would face reductions as well. If the budget is approved, drug companies would be required to increase the rebate they now provide for medications sold to Medicaid patients from 15 percent to 21 percent. The proposal will probably spark a ferocious lobbying campaign by the industry, which has argued that the current 15 percent rebate is already cutting into profits....
Aww, POOR BABIES!! You are lucky you even have the right to exist!
And FUCK your PROFITS!!!!!!!!
The budget also calls for an increase in the top income tax rate, from 35 percent to 39.6 percent for couples with incomes above $250,000 a year, an administration official said.
That's what got Bill Clinton a Republican Congress.
It would also freeze the estate tax at current levels rather than allowing it to permanently expire next year, the AP reported. The biggest tax adjustment, however, would come from updating the alternative minimum tax for inflation.
You better be careful, 'bamer.
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