March 7 (Reuters) - Boehringer Ingelheim will cap

out-of-pocket costs for the company's inhaler products for a

chronic lung disease and asthma at $35 per month starting June

1, the German drugmaker said on Thursday.

The company said its new program will dramatically decrease

costs at the pharmacy counter for patients, including those who

are uninsured or underinsured.

High healthcare costs in the United States are a grave

concern for lawmakers and politicians, and lowering which is a

key part of President Joe Biden's 2024 re-election campaign.

"Conversations about prescription drug prices continue, and

we've listened. We think it is important to come forward with

solutions now that will benefit patients, while we also continue

work with policymakers and other stakeholders on broader system

reform," the company said.

Boehringer will also decrease the list price on some of its

inhaler products, the company said, without providing further

details.

The company has cut out-of-pocket costs for its full range

of inhaler products including Atrovent, Combivent Respimat and

Spiriva HandiHaler, used to treat respiratory conditions such as

asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a

disease that commonly affects smokers.

COPD, or "smoker's lung" which damages the lungs

progressively, affects around 16 million Americans and is the

sixth leading cause of death in the country, according to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June last year

approved the first generic version of Boehringer's Spiriva

HandiHaler by Indian drugmaker Lupin Ltd.

Spiriva, once a top-selling lung disease drug for

controlling symptoms of COPD, has been under pressure from

generic competition in Europe and rival drugs such as GSK Plc's ( GSK )

Advair and Roche's Xolair, among others.

Boehringer was accused in a federal lawsuit in Boston on

Wednesday of improperly submitting patents to the FDA to delay

generic competition and inflate prices for its lung disease

drugs Combivent Respimat and Spiriva Respimat.

(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)