Rome, 7 Nov. – Two polar opposite candidates, but two not so opposing visions regarding pharmaceutical reform overseas: a few hours before the vote that will give the United States its new president, here is an overview of how Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump intend, if elected , intervene in the medicines sector. In their respective national conventions, in fact, the Democratic candidate and the Republican have clarified in detail what they intend to do in the field of health. And they are not in all cases interventions that 'fight' with each other.
Trump – recalls 'PharmaTimes' – focused on the restructuring of the so-called 'Obamacare' (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), the health care reform desired by the outgoing president. Not a total repeal, as desired by many of the tycoon's party mates, but interventions aimed, for example, at reducing the cost of medicines by reopening the possibility of importing them and increasing the number of generics available on the market. At present, in fact, it is not allowed to import medicines produced outside the States and citizens are often forced to organize illegal 'shipments' and online purchases in Canada and Mexico. Trump intends to remove these barriers, appointing the Food and Drug Administration (Fda) to develop an approval process for these products. The regulatory body, according to the intentions of the Republican candidate, will also have to give impetus to the authorization of new equivalent low-cost versions.
Hillary Clinton, for her part, made healthcare and the price of drugs the heart of her electoral campaign. Like Trump, he aims to increase the number of products on the market to help reduce their cost, boosting competition. His plans also require pharmaceutical companies to reinvest an additional percentage of their revenues into research and development or they will not be able to receive federal funds.
Another interesting aspect of Clinton's plans is direct-to-consumer advertising, which in the United States allows ethical drugs to be promoted on TV and in newspapers. A practice that resulted in an increase of 60% between 2012 and 2015, with spending by companies equal to 5.2 billion dollars also in 2015. Clinton wants to introduce legislation that requires a prior review of commercials by the FDA, to check before public disclosure that risks and side effects are communicated clearly.
Furthermore, the Democratic candidate would like to decrease the exclusivity of patents from 12 to 7 years, give priority to products that have no therapeutic alternatives on the market and allow the individual importation of medicines. Finally, both candidates also agree that the federal Medicare health care program should negotiate special drug pricing.
(AdnKronos Salute – 07 NOVEMBER 2016)
Source Focus.it
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