Law Commons^™

The Myth Of Generic Pharmaceutical Competition Under The Hatch-Waxman Act, Emily Michiko Morris

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Without a doubt, health care costs are on the rise, and how to reduce those costs is of great concern to many. The Hatch-Waxman Act attempts to reduce pharmaceutical costs by encouraging market entry by lower-priced generic pharmaceuticals and without a doubt has been successful in doing so over the last three decades. The question is, at what price? Although designed to balance greater generic market entry with stronger incentives for brand-name pharmaceutical innovators to continue developing new drugs, the Act appears to have fall short of making those incentives nearly strong enough and, indeed, likely weakens them. Perhaps more …