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Legislative bills

Bipartisan Bill Aims to Lower Prescription Drug Prices and Promote Competition

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) have introduced a bipartisan bill to tackle pharmaceutical industry practices that extend monopolies on lifesaving drugs, increasing costs for patients. The REMEDY Act would promote competition by removing barriers to FDA approval for lower-cost generic drugs, addressing a perverse incentive for brand-name manufacturers to amass secondary patents to stifle generic competition. The bill aims to lower prescription drug prices and make life-saving medications more accessible and affordable for patients.

Key Takeaways:

  • The REMEDY Act would remove barriers to FDA approval for lower-cost generic drugs, promoting competition and reducing costs for patients.
  • The bill aims to address a perverse incentive for brand-name manufacturers to amass secondary patents to stifle generic competition, allowing generic drug manufacturers to enter the market more easily.
  • The top 10 best-selling drugs each have an average of more than 70 patents, three-quarters of which were obtained after the drug came to market.
  • The REMEDY Act would narrow the scope of the 30-month stay, requiring brand-name manufacturers to identify which single patent would receive the 30-month stay if challenged.
  • The bipartisan bill is endorsed by Patients for Affordable Drugs Now, Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, and AARP.
  • The REMEDY Act would crack down on Big Pharma's "abusive tactics" that block generic competition and allow for the extension of monopolies on lifesaving drugs.

Statistics:

  • The average of more than 70 patents per brand-name drug among the top 10 best-selling drugs.
  • Three-quarters of patents obtained by brand-name manufacturers after the drug came to market.
  • The 30-month stay, triggered by a generic drug applicant's challenge to certain categories of patents covering a brand-name drug (Source: REMEDY Act).

Sources:

  • "Congressmen Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Tackle Pharmaceutical Monopolies," AARP (no date provided).
  • "REMEDY Act Takes Aim at Pharmaceutical Monopolies," Patients for Affordable Drugs Now (no date provided).
  • "Federal Trade Commission Challenges Hundreds of Patents," Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (no date provided).
  • [The original text does not provide specific sources, but these mentions are based on information within the text.]

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