Low Generic Prices Can Lead To Drug Shortages, Califf Says

In a speech during a recent joint workshop between FDA and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf offered support to generic drug makers’ concerns that low prices from generics can lead to shortages by creating less incentive to continue manufacturing. As FDA and USPTO begin collaborating on ways to tweak drug patent policies to spur competition, he stressed that increasing access to affordable medications also requires incentives for manufacturers to continue making less profitable off-patent drugs...