March 25, 2004
The Honorable Tommy Thompson
We write to request that you exercise the “march-in” provisions of the
Bayh-Dole Act to open competition for the supply of latanoprost, a
government funded invention currently marketed by Pfizer under the
trademark Xalatan®. We further request that you schedule a public
hearing so that knowledgeable individuals and groups, including people
living with glaucoma, can testify on the impact of Pfizer’s pricing
Xalatan in the U.S. as much as six times as high than in Western Europe.
Latanoprost is an important glaucoma treatment that can stave off
blindness. Currently, between 2 and 3 million Americans suffer from
glaucoma, but at least half do not receive the treatment they need to
preserve their sight.
Despite the U.S. government’s financing of the discovery of latanoprost,
Pfizer charges U.S. consumers two to six times more for Xalatan than is
charged in Canada or Europe. Many retail pharmacies in the U.S. charge
over $60 for the same four to six week supply that costs under $10 in
Denmark. We find this conduct outrageous. Americans should not have to
pay multiples of what Canadians and Europeans pay for a drug invented
with U.S. taxpayer funding.
The high cost of medicines like Xalatan is a significant reason for the
lack of treatment for many in need. About 21% of those over 45 and
living in poverty went uninsured in 2002. At the retail pharmacy price
of $64 for a 4-6 week supply, the price of Xalatan can consume up to
nine percent of the total income of a single, elderly, individual at the
poverty line.
The Bayh-Dole Act provides a remedy – a “march-in” license for all
qualified suppliers to allow competition to bring prices down. A
petition to use the march-in authority to remedy Pfizer’s discriminatory
pricing was filed by Essential Inventions, Inc. in January 2004. We
support that application and urge you to use this opportunity to act in
the interests of U.S. consumers.
We request that you hold a public hearing on the petition by Essential
Inventions, Inc. before your final determination. Such a hearing, in
which witnesses can be brought to testify orally or submit written
comments, is necessary so that patient groups and others can submit
information on the effects of Pfizer’s discriminatory pricing policies
on access to medicines in this country. Such evidence is undoubtedly
relevant to your determination of whether Pfizer has made a government
funded invention “available to the public on reasonable terms”.
Signed,
Gray Panthers, Washington D.C.
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington D.C. 20201
Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.
Director
National Institutes of Health
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
FAX: 301-404-2700
Dr. Mark Rohrbaugh, Director
Office of Technology Transfer, Office of Intramural Research
National Institutes of Health
6011 Executive Blv., Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20852
FAX: 301-496-9056
Dear Secretary Thompson and Drs. Zerhouni and Rohrbaugh:
Gray Panthers of California
Families USA, Washington D.C.
Community Catalyst, Boston MA
National Health Law Program
New Jersey Appleseed
Vermont Public Interest Research Group
Women's Health Institute (Massachusetts)
United Senior Action of Indiana
Maine People's Alliance
Joint Public Affairs Committee (JPAC) for Older Adults (New York)
Mississippi Human Services Coalition
Rims Barber, Founder Mississippi Human Services Coalition
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
Boston Women’s Health Book Collective