Warren, Jayapal Urge FTC to Rein in Big Pharma Abuses of Patent System

Press Release

"Brand-name pharmaceutical companies have routinely abused the U.S. patent system, violated antitrust law, and hiked the prices of prescription drugs to widen their own profit margins. We urge the FTC to take steps to end Big Pharma's routine exploitation of the Orange Book and hold drug companies accountable for their anti-competitive business practices that are "imposing costs on individuals and society alike."'

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"Improper "sham' patents serve the primary purpose of blocking competitors from introducing lower-costs generic drugs. That's because FDA is automatically barred from approving a generic drug for 30 months if a brand-name drug company sues a generic competitor for infringing on an Orange Book-listed patent. Pharmaceutical companies are therefore incentivized to list more patents in the Orange Book, whether they're valid or not, to hold off generic competition for multiple years and extend their own monopolies regardless of the outcome of any litigation."

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"Unjustified delays in generic competition are costing patients and taxpayers billions of dollars, just to pad Big Pharma's profits… The FTC now has the chance to hold Big Pharma accountable for these anti-competitive business tactics. We support your decision to discuss this critical issue at tomorrow's open meeting and encourage you to release a strong policy statement declaring that the listing of sham patents in the Orange Book is an unfair method of competition that is reducing access to essential drugs and hurting patients."

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