McClellan's Balancing Act: Yes to Generics, No to Imports & Price Controls

It's hard to fault the FDA commissioner for his even-handed treatment of the two drug industries--branded vs. generic--and the competing social imperatives they stand for: new drug research and affordability. In recent speeches, Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, has been making the branded industry's case both for higher drug reimbursement from Europe and against parallel imports from Canada. And he's also been pushing for making it easier for branded generic drugs to hit the market. The only problem with this balancing act: he has far more power to quickly advance the generic agenda than the branded one.