WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now released a new video featuring patient advocates and P4ADNow staff highlighting the bipartisan ETHIC Act and how the legislation would help curb one of Big Pharma’s most common tactics for blocking lower-cost competition to keep drug prices high.

The ETHIC Act would address patent thickets — a practice in which brand-name drugmakers accumulate dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of overlapping patents on a single medicine. These patent thickets can be used to block generic and biosimilar competition through costly litigation, entrenching monopolies and forcing patients to pay higher prices for brand-name medications for longer.

Introduced by Sens. Peter Welch, Josh Hawley, and Amy Klobuchar, the bipartisan ETHIC Act would require generic manufacturers to challenge only one patent per patent family rather than litigating against dozens of duplicative patents. The reform would preserve legitimate patent protections while helping prevent abuse of the system to delay competition.

Patent-protected brand-name drugs only make up about 10% of prescriptions, but account for three-quarters of drug spending in the U.S. On average, there are 74 patents per top-selling drug, and when challenged, more than two-thirds of secondary patents are invalidated.

Watch the video here.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Kris Garcia, Patient Advocate: “Americans pay the highest drug prices in the world.”

Lisa Ann Trainor:“A big reason why is because branded drug companies game the patent system to block patients from accessing lower-cost generics and biosimilars.”

Sarah Wisniewski, Patient Advocate: “One of the ways they do this is by amassing dozens, often hundreds, of patents on a single drug. Then their lawyers use these patents to sue competitors when they try to launch lower-cost generics.”

Alejandra Borbolla Diaz:“Often, brand-name drug companies aren’t even necessarily trying to win the lawsuit. They just want to tie their competitors up in court so they can’t launch their products.”

Merith Basey:“The ETHIC Act is a bipartisan bill introduced by three Senators: Peter Welch, Josh Hawley, and Amy Klobuchar. If passed, this bill would help stop big pharma from bombarding competitors with frivolous patent lawsuits that delay them from launching generics and biosimilars.”

Emma Sands:“So, the ETHIC ACT. It’ll rein in these patent games, which will lead to more competition, which will lead to lower drug prices.” 

Kris Garcia:“That’s good for patients. Really good for patients. That’s why we’re fighting to pass the ETHIC Act. Get involved at www.patientsforaffordabledrugsnow.org.”

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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