White House Moves On High-Priced Drugs By Targeting Pharma Patents
The Biden administration is expected to assert Thursday that NIH has march-in rights to seize drugmakers' patents to medicines that were developed with federal funding. If employed, the move could provide the White House with another tool to try to lower prescription drug costs.
Politico:
Targeting Costly Meds, Biden Admin Asserts Authority To Seize Certain Drug Patents
The Biden administration has determined that it has the authority to seize the patents of certain high-priced medicines, a move that could open the door to a more aggressive federal campaign to slash drug prices. The determination, which was described by three people familiar with the matter, represents the culmination of a nearly nine-month review of the government’s so-called march-in rights. Progressives have long insisted that those rights empower the administration to break the patents of pricey drugs that were developed with public funds, in an effort to create more competition and lower prices. ...The framework is likely to face sharp opposition from pharmaceutical companies that argue it’s illegal for the government to seize its patents and would disincentivize the development of new drugs. (Cancryn, 12/6)
Stat:
To Lower Drug Prices, White House Takes New Aim At Pharma Patents
The administration will on Thursday issue a framework for the National Institutes of Health to more broadly use so-called “march-in rights” — a policy that allows it to seize patents from drugmakers whose products rely on federally funded research, according to the three people familiar with the plans. The framework will lay out when the agency might assert this authority, and endorse using a drug’s price in that determination, the sources said. (Owermohle and Cohrs, 12/6)
In related news about drug patents —
Stat:
Most Drugmakers Have So Far Ignored FTC Deadline On Wayward Patents
With 10 days to go, only one company has responded to a demand by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for several brand-name drugmakers to delist dozens of patents that were improperly or inaccurately listed in a government registry, according to a source familiar with the matter. (Silverman, 12/6)
Stat:
FDA, Patent Office Look To Team Up To Lower Drug Prices
In 1997, Celgene obtained a key patent for what would become a blockbuster blood cancer treatment, giving it a monopoly until 2019. But like any pharmaceutical company with an eye toward the future, Celgene continued to seek other ways to wring profits from its development work. (Silverman, 12/7)
More on the effort to lower drug prices —
Stat:
U.S. Judge Orders Minn. To Pause Its Drug Pricing Transparency Law
In a victory for the pharmaceutical industry, a U.S. judge ruled that Minnesota must temporarily halt a controversial law that is designed to provide transparency into prescription drug pricing over concerns that it is unconstitutional. (Silverman, 12/6)
KFF Health News:
Colorado Blames Biden Team And Drugmakers For Delaying Canadian Imports
Colorado officials say their plan to import cheaper medicines from Canada has been stymied by opposition from drugmakers and inaction by the Biden administration, according to a state report obtained by KFF Health News. The Dec. 1 report, prepared for the state legislature by Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy & Financing, says that state officials approached 23 drugmakers in the last year about an importation program. Only four agreed even to discuss the proposal; none expressed interest in participating. (Galewitz, 12/7)
More action from the Biden administration —
The Hill:
Public Health Groups Alarmed At White House Delay Of Menthol Cigarette Ban
The Biden administration is delaying a decision on whether to ban menthol flavored cigarettes amid intense lobbying from critics including the tobacco industry, industry-backed groups and some Black criminal justice advocates. The delay is alarming public health groups, which fear that the White House could cave to pressure and delay the rule indefinitely, especially against the backdrop of President Biden’s reelection bid. “Any delay in finalizing the FDA’s [Food and Drug Administration’s] menthol rule would be a gift to the tobacco industry at the expense of Black lives,” said Yolanda Richardson, CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (Weixel, 12/6)
