Senate Bills Take Aim At Drug Industry Tactics That Block Competition And Keep Prices High
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now welcomes two bipartisan bills to curb some of Big Pharma’s abuses of the patent system in a renewed effort to lower prescription drug prices. The Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act (S. 1041) targets patent thicketing, a tactic pharmaceutical companies use to block lower-cost biosimilars from entering the market. The second bill, newly introduced S. 1040, would prohibit product hopping, a shady practice drugmakers deploy to direct patients to a new brand-name drug to avoid facing generic competition.
These legislative reforms are critical steps to reducing pharmaceutical industry abuses that delay competition and drive up costs, helping to bring more affordable alternatives to market and reducing prescription drug prices for millions of Americans.“For too long Big Pharma has rigged the system in its favor,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of P4ADNow. “These bipartisan bills take direct aim at the pharmaceutical industry’s exploitation of our patent and regulatory systems — systems they manipulate to inflate drug prices and extend monopolies, costing patients and taxpayers billions every year. This is corporate greed at its worst and patients are paying the price. With nine out of 10 Americans demanding further action from Congress to rein in high drug prices, the Senate must advance these bipartisan measures and prioritize patients over the insatiable greed of pharma and their lobbyists.”
In the 118th Congress, these reforms were originally introduced as one bill under the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. However, during markup, the product hopping provision was removed, allowing the remaining patent thicketing portion of the bill to advance and ultimately pass the Senate unanimously in July 2024. The patent thicketing bill was also included in a reintroduced health care package last week by Senators Sanders and Wyden. Now, in the 119th Congress, these reforms have been introduced by Senators Cornyn, Blumenthal, Grassley, and Durbin as two separate bills.
- S. 1041: Limits the number of patents pharmaceutical companies can assert on biologics, clearing the path for earlier entry of lower-cost biosimilars into the market. A previous version of this bill passed the Senate unanimously in July 2024. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates this reform could save taxpayers $1.8 billion over 10 years.
- S. 1040: Prohibits product hopping by classifying it as an antitrust violation. Product hopping occurs when a brand-name drug company games the patent and regulatory systems by switching patients to a “newer” version of a drug when an older version is losing its monopoly and about to face competition. Usually, the “new” version involves only a small change that is not a true clinical improvement but allows the drug maker to continue to dominate the market by reducing competition and keeping prices high.
BACKGROUND
- In July 2023, P4ADNow launched the “Push for Competition to Lower Drug Prices” campaign to highlight the harmful impact of Big Pharma’s anti-competitive practices. Over the last 20 months, key efforts by patients and advocates have included:
- Nearly 42,000 letters were sent to Congress urging action on bipartisan patent reform bills.
- Patient advocates made over 31,000 calls to Congressional offices, pushing for the passage of reforms to tackle Big Pharma’s patent abuses.
- Nine patient advocates traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet directly with lawmakers, sharing personal stories about the burden of high drug prices.
- Patients shared their stories through interviews, press conferences, Hill panels, op-eds, and news outlets nationwide.
- David Mitchell, Founder and President of P4ADNow and a patient with an incurable rare cancer testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging Congress to pass reforms, including provisions introduced yesterday, to ensure timely market entry for generics and biosimilars and promote incentives for genuine innovation.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more visit; PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org.