By Lisa Richwine
WASHINGTON, Nov 09 (Reuters) -- Vice President Al Gore on Monday accused some brand-name drug makers of harming consumers by unfairly delaying access to cheaper generic medication, a practice he vowed to stop if elected president.
Gore said he opposed legislation backed by New Jersey drug maker Schering-Plough Corporation that could prolong the patent life of its popular allergy pill Claritin for up to three additional years.
He said the bill exemplified drug company efforts to protect profits at the expense of consumers, who must wait longer for less expensive generics to become available.
Some makers of brand-name drugs "are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Congress and tag the American people with more of these absurdly high pharmaceutical prices," said Gore, who spoke to reporters at a pharmacy in northwest Washington.
Gore, who is trying to fend off a challenge from former Sen. Bill Bradley for the Democratic presidential nomination, pledged that if he was elected president, he would take steps to get generic drugs onto the market sooner after patents expired. For example, any request for added patent time would require an independent cost analysis, Gore said. It would also have to move through Congress as a separate piece of legislation, not be tucked unnoticed into a larger bill, he said.
Schering-Plough's campaign, which industry analysts say could secure billions of dollars in future revenues, is only the latest waged by a drug company, Gore said.
"This is one reason people are suffering with the high medication prices," he said.
Bradley on Monday launched his fiercest attack yet on Gore, accusing the Democratic front-runner of abandoning the principle of providing all Americans with healthcare.
But Gore said his defense of generic drugs was just one part of a broad healthcare plan he called "the boldest new step" since Medicare and Medicaid. Schering-Plough said on Monday that it was merely seeking to restore time lost while awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval to market Claritin, the world's best-selling antihistamine, with $1.9 billion in 1998 US sales.
Legislation in Congress would not automatically extend Claritin's patent protection but would set up an independent review panel to consider the request, a company spokeswoman said.
"It attempts to remove politics out of the process by establishing an independent process," spokeswoman Denise Foy said.
