http://thinkprogress.org/...
This was a minor kerfuffle when the bill was in Congress. Biologics, a new class of drugs with living organisms, which shows promise is treating some diseases, were given a longer exclusivity period. Henry Waxman wanted 5 years, Pharma wanted 12 and Obama suggested 7 years. The bill was passed with 12 years, but just recently it was shortened to 7. A) This saves 3.5 billion over 10 years due to cheaper generics being available sooner (7 years instead of 12),
B) what was claimed to be a sellout to the Pharma industry is actually not one.