"You do not have the right to keep generic drugs off the market for frivolous reasons," President George Bush declared on Monday as he announced his administration's new effort to bust up complicated legal schemes devised to do just that. Drug manufacturers have been using loopholes in the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act—which is aimed at promoting cheaper alternatives to brand name pharmaceuticals whose patents have expired—to prevent competition.
It's no wonder that brand name drug makers are worried. In 1984, when the law was passed, only 19 percent of prescriptions were for generic drugs; today the figure is 47 percent. That means patients have saved a lot of money. Generic drugs are just as effective as their brand name equivalents, and typically cost one-third as much.
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