Welcome to the Week in Review.

Harmful Patent Bills Stall In Senate

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup of two controversial patent bills, S.2220, the PREVAIL Act, and S.2140, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA), was postponed yet again amidst ongoing concerns from patients and public health advocates. If enacted, these bills would make it more difficult to challenge questionable patents, potentially limiting competition from lower-cost generics and biosimilars – enabling pharmaceutical companies to keep prices consistently high for patients. These bills could further entrench Big Pharma’s pricing power, allowing companies to lock in monopoly prices longer and undermining recent reforms aimed at lowering costs.  “We’re encouraged by the delay on S. 2220 and S. 2140, but the threat to patients isn’t over. Even with the potential amendments, the committee is unable to fix the fundamental flaws of the bill,” said Merith Basey, P4AD executive director, after yesterday’s committee meeting. In September, when the bill was originally on the calendar for markup, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now sent a letter to the Committee urging members to vote against moving the bills forward. The markup has been rescheduled for next week. As we approach the final weeks of this Congress, legislators should instead prioritize bipartisan reforms that would improve our patent system and increase competition to lower prices for millions of patients across the country. — (Inside Health Policy, Axios, patientspushforcompetition.org) 

Drug Industry Trade Association’s Waning Power

The drug industry’s top trade associations, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) have seen notable departures from their corporate members amid continued tensions since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. This week, GSK became the fifth company to leave BIO in the last two years and joined Pfizer, UCB, AbbVie, and Takeda in departing the trade association. Since the enactment of the IRA, PhRMA has similarly experienced an exodus of major drug companies from its membership, including AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Teva. The IRA drug pricing reforms have sparked significant debate within the industry, leading some companies to reassess their membership in key industry groups.  — (Endpoints, STAT, Fierce Pharma, Becker’s Hospital Review)

ICYMI

In a video interview with El Tiempo Latino, P4AD’s Merith Basey detailed the significant barriers facing Black and Latino communities with regard to high drug prices that force many patients to skip or forgo their essential medicines.  

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