Senate, FTC cracking down on pharma patent shenanigans [View all]

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President Biden's bold and triumphant domestic policies at work.


By Dick Durbin and Lina M. Khan

July 2, 2024

Why do Americans pay so much more for common medications than people in other countries? Why does an inhaler that costs $7 in France cost almost $500 in the United States? These are just a few of the questions the Senate Judiciary Committee looked to answer in a recent hearing. The common answer? Dominant corporations use a variety of patent-related strategies to protect their power, maximize their profits, and squash their competition.

Americans are facing an affordability crisis at the hands of corporate titans. One in three people cannot afford the medications their doctors prescribe. These medications don’t have to be so expensive, but all too often pharmaceutical companies use illegal tactics to block competition that could lower prices and encourage innovation.

In one scheme recently exposed by the Federal Trade Commission, pharmaceutical companies improperly listed patents on a federal registry to gum up the works and delay generic competition, enabling them to continue charging sky-high prices for medicines people need.

Here is how it works: The Food and Drug Administration keeps a list of patents associated with approved drugs, known as the Orange Book. When a patent is listed in the Orange Book, the drug’s manufacturer can delay approval of a generic competitor for 30 months. That means the FDA isn’t allowed to approve any cheaper alternatives for 2 1/2 years.
https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/02/reduce-healthcare-costs-via-patent-reform-ftc-lina-khan-senator-dick-durbin/