CSRXP APPLAUDS EXPANDED FTC CRACK DOWN ON BIG PHARMA’S SHAM PATENTS IN THE ORANGE BOOK

Commission Builds on Previous Action by Targeting More Than 300 Patents, Including on Blockbuster GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs

Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) issued a statement Tuesday reacting to an announcement from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the Commission is challenging more than 300 patents listed in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations” publication, otherwise known as the “Orange Book.”

“CSRxP applauds the FTC for building on previous progress to hold Big Pharma accountable for abuse of the patent system that extends monopolies on blockbuster money-makers, blocks competition from more affordable alternatives and keeps prescription drug prices high,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “The FTC’s scrutiny of Big Pharma’s sham patents around blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss drugs will be especially critical given the staggering costs these egregiously-priced products could impose on American patients and the U.S. health care system.”

The FTC sent letters to several drug makers, including brand name drug giants AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, GSK and Novartis. The FTC letters challenge patents on several different types of brand name insulin, inhaler products and GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

Read the announcement from the FTC as well as the letters to brand name drug companies HERE and HERE.

Read more about Big Pharma’s patent abuse and how Congress can lower drug prices for patients by cracking down on brand name drug companies’ anti-competitive tactics HERE.

Read more on the estimated cost of Big Pharma’s unsustainable prices on GLP-1 weight loss drugs HERE.

Read more on bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.