Washington’s Beth Finkel op-ed on generic drug patent settlements (“Ban deals that keep generic drugs out of New Yorkers’ reach,” May 22) uses outdated numbers to support flawed policy which will make it more difficult for seniors to access affordable, reliable prescription drugs.

Brand-name drug manufacturers use patent law to protect their profitable products. For example, AbbVie has been granted more than 100 patents on Humira, the world’s top-selling drug, many of which were issued after AbbVie’s original patent expired. These patents are designed to prevent another company from making a more affordable biosimilar of Humira without violating patent law.

These patent “successions” force generic and biosimilar drug makers to spend a lot of time and money on litigation in the hope of bringing affordable alternatives to market faster. Protracted litigation can last for years and may eventually become too costly to bring to a final judgment. Colonies get generic drugs to market and to patients faster. Following settlements, biosimilar versions of Humira could hit the market next year, 11 years before the patent expires.

According to recent statistics from the Federal Trade Commission, the patent deals described by Finkel are no longer likely to impede the introduction of generic drugs and harm patients. Restricting regulations for early entry of generics and biosimilars will lead to less competition. As a result, drug prices will continue to stay high for longer. Passing this legislation would support branded prescription drug monopolies to the detriment of New York patients. Allen Goldberg, Senior Vice President, Association for Accessible Medicines

Brooklyn: With all the bad news, I thought it would be helpful to submit something that happened at our college in New York that has never happened before. The National Science Olympiad program has been around for about 38 years. In all that time, never has a local college taken first place in state competition (beating about 400 other teams) and then moved on to national competition. Approximately 60 teams out of nearly 6,000 teams nationwide have been invited to this event. This year our school, The Bay Academy of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, did just that. Michael Cubin

Bayonne: Excellent story and commentary by Pat Leonard and Filip Bondy, respectively, on the Rangers bombing of the Lightning. Too bad they couldn’t make it into the sports final of your e-edition! Marty Wolfson

Little Neck: Could someone advise sports columnist Pat Leonard that Rangers star Filip Chytil is not Czechoslovakian, but Czech. Czechoslovakia split into two sovereign nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. John P. Quinn

Bronx: Sara Lind and Logan Phares’ article (“Build New York for People, Not Automobiles,” May 30 editorial) is heavily weighted to the needs and wants of Manhattanites. Unlike Manhattan, my hometown of the Bronx, which has about 90% people of color and 30% of the population living below poverty, needs cars. We live in neighborhoods with no supermarkets and an adequate metro system to take us downtown to work on weekdays but which is disrupted or unavailable on weekends, so 48% of us have cars. Traversing the city is an ordeal for young and old where buses are perpetually late, overcrowded and require more time or transfers than is reasonable. I believe Queens, Staten Island and the southern part of Brooklyn would easily agree. Making parking less available in our boroughs will not increase family stores or moderately priced housing, but will push us out of New York. Maryann Byrnes

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Staten Island: The MTA spent $11 billion on the East Side Access project to spare spoiled commuters the horror of a cross-town subway ride. Now New York wants to spend even more on a new Penn Station because the old one is drab, has low ceilings, and needs “intuitive guidance,” says Kathryn Garcia (“We can’t miss our moment to fix Penn Station”, op-ed , June 2) Meanwhile, Staten Islanders are enduring the longest commutes in the country because there’s apparently no money for South Shore fast ferries, and still less for a direct rail link. We’ll live in the shadow of a bridge with a $20 toll but take comfort in the beautiful Penn Station that Garcia says we need. John Colella

Brooklyn: Dear Amber Heard, don’t despair. A leopard cannot change its spots. He will start again and you will be justified. Think Kevin Spacey. june lowe

Midland Park, NJ: I have a crazy idea: how about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard donating the money they receive in their lawsuits? The money could be used to build a new school for children in Uvalde, Texas. Mary Jo McDonough

Newport Beach, CA: As a woman and mother, I deeply sympathize with the thousands of women unable to breastfeed their babies who now face an unprecedented shortage of infant formula. As a practicing physician and nutritionist, I was amazed to learn that so many people still feed their babies cow’s milk formula, which has a nutrient profile intended for a baby growing to weigh 1,300 pounds and can overwhelm an infant’s digestive organs. . It’s high in artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol, but lacking in iron, vitamin C and other nutrients that human infants need. Seventy percent of African Americans and 95% of Asian Americans are allergic to lactose, the sugar in cow’s milk. We all want the best for our babies. Breastfeeding works best for most mothers. For others, there are many healthy infant formulas that spare our babies the milk intended for other species. Angizeh Sadeghi

Manhattan: If blacks or Muslims, in groups, started buying AR-15s and other weapons of war, I bet Republicans would start banning them. If the children of Republican members of Congress (God forbid, of course) were shot and slaughtered, I bet they would change the gun laws. If a black or Muslim man did a mass shooting and then turned himself in (i.e. the racist white shooters in Buffalo and South Carolina) I bet he’d still be killed instead of seeing himself offer something to eat and drink. If black men started targeting white groups of people like the reverse, I bet Republicans would pass legislation to label every black group as domestic terrorists. Sterling Waterman

North Branford, Conn. : Without further discussion, we must rewrite this onerous and completely outdated Second Amendment to reflect contemporary thinking. Obviously, the provisions for common defense (for all law-abiding citizens) are implemented by the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. We private citizens do not need to collect and possess, let alone use, automatic weapons. They are made for one purpose: to kill quickly and efficiently. I see no way that they promote general welfare when used by civilians. In case you need a refresher on the thought of our founders, here is the preamble to the United States Constitution: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defence, to promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Stephane Syrotiak

West Milford, NJ: To Voicer Warren D. Gross: Thank you for your kind and thoughtful response to my response to your letter. I can see that I am fighting a losing battle and the litmus test for having morals, ethics and values ​​is to be like Christ, as if there is no one else who represents morality , decency and humanity. I know many atheists and agnostics who are philanthropists and give themselves to humanitarian causes. I live in a seniors’ condominium. I was talking to a neighbor who told me about a couple moving into our building. She said they are very nice people, they are “good Christians”. I said, “That’s good. But you don’t have to be a Christian to be good. With a puzzled look on her face, she said, “You don’t?” Betty E. Weisblum