Politico is reporting the biotech lobby is threatening to endorse Scott Brown, if President Obama tries to shorten the legal protections for a class of drugs known as “biologics.”

Both the House and Senate bill give twelve years of protection against “generics.” President Obama has said eight to ten years would be more appropriate.

He’s right on this one.

I have a personal interest in biologics, because I’m a diabetic. Lately I’ve been wondering why run-of-the-mill insulins cost so much money (about $45 a vial). Insulin isn’t a new drug; it has been on the market more than 50 years; you don’t typically need a prescription for basic insulin; why hasn’t the market brought the cost down? Computers cost less now than they did ten years ago, why does insulin cost more?

The answer is that there is no generic insulin, legally speaking, because synthetic human insulin is a biologic — produced by live human cells — and so there is no “generic” version according to current government rules.

Creating generic biologics is new. And a good idea.

President Obama, stand firm on this one. Or if that isn’t politically feasible, consider making an exception for basic insulins.