CSRXP APPLAUDS FTC CRACKDOWN ON BIG PHARMA’S FLAGRANT ABUSE OF THE PATENT SYSTEM

Commission Targets More Than 100 Patents on Brand Name Products Listed in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Orange Book

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 100 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.” The FTC sent letters to several drug makers including brand name drug giants AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Glaxo-Smith Kline. The FTC letters challenge patents on several different types of brand name products including inhalers and EpiPen injectors.

“Big Pharma’s egregious and longstanding abuse of the patent system blocks competition from more affordable alternatives, keeps prescription drug prices high and costs patients and the entire U.S. health care system billions of dollars each year,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “CSRxP commends the FTC for taking proactive steps to crack down on Big Pharma’s egregious anti-competitive tactics by challenging flimsy patents designed to game the system and boost profits, not protect or foster innovation.”

“Increased regulatory scrutiny on bogus patents in the Orange Book should add to the bipartisan momentum on Capitol Hill to advance market-based solutions to crack down on Big Pharma’s egregious abuse of the patent system,” Aronson added. “Solutions like Cornyn-Blumenthal would hold Big Pharma accountable for common anti-competitive tactics like patent thicketing and product-hopping and have won substantial support from both sides of the aisle.”

Read the announcement from the Federal Trade Commission as well as the letters to brand name drug companies HERE and HERE.

Read more about how Big Pharma’s patent abuse is the root cause of out-of-control prescription drug prices and why solutions like Cornyn-Blumenthal would help HERE.

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