“ Sen. Edward Kennedy has introduced a bill granting Amgen and other biotech companies more than 13 years of marketing exclusivity for new “biologic” drugs, a class of protein-based drugs engineered from living cells. That’s nearly twice the seven years’ protection proposed by the White House; Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Henry Waxman have proposed five.
All parties to this disagreement are dedicated to the plight of the health care consumer, none more than Kennedy himself. Why, then, the difference? Reporting on the controversy in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Alicia Mundy suggests that Kennedy was trying to “keep the pharmaceutical industry on board” with the health care reform bill. Another possible reason—one Mundy fails to mention—is that Amgen has pledged $5 million to help create the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a pricey “Teddy Too” annex that Kennedy hopes to build alongside the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. Why is Ted Kennedy being so kind to Amgen? - By Timothy Noah - Slate Magazine
All parties to this disagreement are dedicated to the plight of the health care consumer, none more than Kennedy himself. Why, then, the difference? Reporting on the controversy in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Alicia Mundy suggests that Kennedy was trying to “keep the pharmaceutical industry on board” with the health care reform bill. Another possible reason—one Mundy fails to mention—is that Amgen has pledged $5 million to help create the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a pricey “Teddy Too” annex that Kennedy hopes to build alongside the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. Why is Ted Kennedy being so kind to Amgen? - By Timothy Noah - Slate Magazine
