ORLANDO, Fla. — As she finished her one-year term as the chair of a trade group representing generic drugs, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch defended the industry and applauded its attempt at making prescriptions affordable.
At the annual meeting for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association in Orlando Tuesday, Feb. 14 , industry leaders announced a public launching of the group under a new name and with a new campaign.
Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPA) has become the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) representing the generic pharmaceutical and biosimilar industry.
According to tweets from the AAM, Bresch addressed industry leaders. She was quoted as saying “We indeed produce the savings for this country, not the costs – almost 90% of prescriptions and only 25% of the cost. We need to own the story of savings.”
A third tweet said Bresch concluded her address saying she “couldn’t be more excited to be part of this industry to make sure we’re delivering accessible medicines.”
In a Tuesday release from Mylan, Bresch said, “The new name also reflects the dramatic shift in how healthcare is being delivered in our country, and the increasing importance for patients approaching the pharmacy counter to experience the true savings that our medicines provide.”
AAM’s campaign, “Keeping Medicines in Reach”, is launched four months after Mylan agreed to a settlement with the U. S. Department of Justice and federal regulators over pricing practices.
The Oct. 2, 2016 settlement included terms that “do not provide for any wrongdoing on the part of Mylan Inc.”
The price of Mylan’s EpiPen Auto-Injector increased more than 500 % in nine years. In December 2016, Mylan announced its launch of a generic version of the medicine that is used to treat life threatening allergic reactions.
Jeff Watson, President of Global Generics, Apotex, Inc., is the new AAM chairman.