Pfizer doubling patient income limit for free drug program

[...] a continuing wave of mergers of both brand-name and generic drug manufacturers threatens to further limit competition, the primary control on prices in the U.S.

Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Ian Read told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that the New York company isn't boosting assistance due to the heightened scrutiny of prices, but because more and more patients can't afford needed medicines.

Pfizer will make an additional 44 medicines free for both uninsured and underinsured patients earning up to four times the federal poverty level, or $47,080 annually for a single person and $97,000 for a family of four.

On average, those patients received a monthly prescription for about a year, until they obtained better insurance coverage or other circumstances changed, said Caroline Roan, Pfizer's vice president for corporate responsibility.

The increased income limit pertains to many popular Pfizer brands: pain relievers Celebrex and Lyrica, smoking cessation aids Chantix and Nicotrol, depression drug Effexor XR, the Prevnar 13 pneumococcal vaccine, Depo-Provera and other long-acting contraceptives, and erectile dysfunction pill Viagra.

Besides offering free medicines under the RxPathways program, Pfizer offers help working with insurance companies and connecting with foundations that assist patients, as well as discounts up to 50 percent off retail prices for its medicines, regardless of patient income.