*

Hassan says decision reduces access for low-income

patients

*

Democrat accuses GSK of evading Medicaid rebate

obligations

British drugmaker blames external factors for reduced access

*

GSK says it supports free inhaler program for eligible

patients

(Adds GSK comments 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 giant GlaxoSmithKline's decision

to discontinue a widely used asthma inhaler for children.

Hassan said in letters sent on Friday to GSK and its

authorized generic distributor, Prasco Laboratories, and seen by

Reuters that the decision to remove Flovent HFA from the market

in January 2024 had contributed to a spike in hospitalizations

and deaths linked to asthma complications.

She demanded documents detailing the rationale behind the

decision, and its financial and health impacts.

"We remain committed to ensuring that innovation and

affordability can coexist and are focused on improving health

outcomes for patients," a GSK spokesperson said.

Hassan, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee's

Health Care Subcommittee, called on GSK to restore the inhaler

to market. She also requested internal pricing documents, rebate

data and communications with regulators by July 18.

She accused GSK of evading rebate obligations to Medicaid,

which provides health coverage to 71 million low-income people

and is one of the biggest 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 said.

"Children across the country have faced life-threatening

medical challenges and families have grappled with more

expensive or less effective alternative medications - when these

options are available at all," Hassan wrote in her letter.

GSK told Hassan in response to an earlier letter she sent in

May last year that Prasco controls pricing of the generic.

Hassan said both companies failed to ensure affordability of the

treatment, contributing to delays or denials of insurance

coverage.

The company took steps to make the authorized generic more

accessible when it launched in 2022 but external factors

impacted patient access, its spokesperson said on Friday.

Prasco has since launched a patient assistance program

in December 2024 that provides free inhalers to eligible

patients who cannot afford it, the GSK spokesperson said, and

GSK has supported the program by providing Prasco with supply.

Hassan cited a Johns Hopkins analysis which found that GSK's

move 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 said last year it would cap out-of-pocket costs for all

its inhaled asthma and chronic lung disease medicines at $35 per

month for eligible patients in the United States starting

January 2025, following similar moves by its rivals.

The announcement came after lawmakers criticized

manufacturers over high prices, and launched an investigation to

look into the prices at which these were sold in the United

States versus other countries.