When Senator Susan Collins took to the Senate floor last week to tout her record on patent gaming in the pharmaceutical industry, she neglected to mention that her last effort to combat patent abuse by big pharma was watered down to the point where experts said the bill “doesn’t seem to be doing much anymore.”
In what was described as a “big win for drug makers,” a proposal in the original draft that would have blocked drug makers from suing over undisclosed patents was replaced with a toothless provision that merely directed the FDA to create a list of companies that don’t disclose their patents. But even after failing to deliver a meaningful measure that may have actually helped bring down the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, Collins continued to promote her ineffective legislation.
Senator Collins has accepted more than $450,000 from the pharmaceutical industry and has consistently acted in their best interest in Washington, voting to shield drug manufacturers from accountability and give the biggest pharma companies billions in tax breaks.
“Mainers need meaningful action to ensure that they can afford their prescriptions, but Susan Collins failed to deliver yet again,” said Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Lisa Roberts. “After more than two decades in Washington, it’s clear that Collins is too close to the corporate special interests backing her campaign to fight for the change Mainers deserve.”
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