Hassan says decision reduces access for low-income clients

Democrat implicates GSK of evading Medicaid rebate responsibilities British drugmaker blames external elements for lower access

GSK says it supports complimentary inhaler program for eligible patients

(Adds GSK remarks in paragraphs 4, 9-10)

By Ahmed Aboulenein

WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan said on Friday she is launching an investigation into British pharmaceutical huge GlaxoSmithKline's choice to terminate an extensively utilized asthma inhaler for kids.

Hassan stated in letters sent on Friday to GSK and its authorized generic supplier, Prasco Laboratories, and seen by Reuters that the decision to eliminate Flovent HFA from the market in January 2024 had added to a spike in hospitalizations and deaths linked to asthma issues.

She required documents detailing the reasoning behind the decision, and its financial and health effects.

"We remain dedicated to guaranteeing that innovation and cost can exist together and are concentrated on enhancing health outcomes for clients," a GSK spokesperson stated.

Hassan, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee's Health Care Subcommittee, gotten in touch with GSK to restore the inhaler to market. She likewise requested internal pricing files, refund data and communications with regulators by July 18.

She accused GSK of evading refund obligations to Medicaid, which provides health protection to 71 million low-income people and is among the greatest U.S. safety-net programs. In addition, GSK's decision to replace the brand-name inhaler with a higher-cost authorized generic had lowered access for low-income patients, Hassan stated.

"Children throughout the nation have actually dealt with lethal medical difficulties and households have grappled with more expensive or less efficient alternative medications - when these options are readily available at all," Hassan wrote in her letter.

GSK told Hassan in action to an earlier letter she sent in May last year that Prasco controls prices of the generic. Hassan said both companies stopped working to guarantee price of the treatment, adding to hold-ups or denials of insurance protection.

The business took steps to make the licensed generic more accessible when it released in 2022 but external elements impacted patient access, its spokesperson stated on Friday.

Prasco has given that launched a client assistance program in December 2024 that supplies free inhalers to eligible patients who can not afford it, the GSK representative stated, and GSK has actually supported the program by offering Prasco with supply.

Hassan mentioned a Johns Hopkins analysis which found that GSK's relocation saved the company $367 million in 2024 Medicaid rebates while costing the program over $550 million. Parents reported paying up to $150 per inhaler for the generic, compared to $10 for Flovent.

GSK stated last year it would cap out-of-pocket expenses for all its inhaled asthma and persistent lung illness medications at $35 each month for eligible clients in the United States beginning January 2025, following comparable relocations by its rivals.

The announcement followed lawmakers criticized producers over high rates, and released an investigation to check out the rates at which these were sold in the United States versus other nations. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Mark Porter)