Austin News

July 11, 2024

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) issued statements following the unanimous Senate passage of their Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. The legislation aims to lower drug prices by preventing pharmaceutical companies from abusing the patent system.

“Anti-competitive practices from companies abusing the patent system have caused Texans’ costs at the pharmacy counter to skyrocket,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This long-overdue legislation would promote competition and lower prices for patients without standing in the way of innovation, and I urge my colleagues in the House to pass it as soon as possible.”

Sen. Blumenthal added, “Today, we take a momentous step forward in our efforts to lower Americans’ prescription drug costs. Our bipartisan, commonsense measure to crack down on Big Pharma’s shameless abuse of the patent system will protect competition and reduce prices at the pharmacy. Patients must be able to afford critical medicine, and I will continue fighting tooth and nail against Pharma’s anti-competitive practices that drive up costs for consumers.”

The bill is cosponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Some pharmaceutical manufacturers have been accused of abusing the patent system to block potential competitors from entering the market through tactics such as creating "patent thickets," which delay the introduction of lower-cost biosimilar products.

The Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act seeks to end these practices by limiting the number of patents a manufacturer can contest during what is known as the "patent dance." This process was originally designed to resolve patent disputes quickly before a biosimilar product enters the market but has been exploited by some companies to hinder competition.

By placing a reasonable limit on contested patents, this legislation aims to deter branded manufacturers from manipulating the system while preserving incentives for innovation in biologic treatments. Senators Cornyn and Blumenthal remain committed to addressing other anticompetitive practices like product hopping to ensure lower costs for patients.