CSRXP COMMENDS ADVANCEMENT OF BILL TO BOOST AGENCY COOPERATION TO CRACK DOWN ON BIG PHARMA’S PATENT ABUSE

Bipartisan Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act of 2022 Will Help Hold Brand Name Drug Companies Accountable, Support Pharmaceutical Competition

Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released a statement Thursday following the passage of the Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act of 2022 in the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). 

“CSRxP commends Chairman Durbin, Senator Tillis, Senator Grassley and Members of the Committee for advancing this bipartisan bill that will help crack down on Big Pharma’s abuse of the patent system,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “This legislation will build on recent progress made by the administration to improve coordination between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hold brand name drug companies accountable and support competition from more affordable alternatives.” 

CSRxP has long encouraged the FDA and USPTO to take additional steps to crack down on Big Pharma’s patent abuse. In June testimony for the record for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, CSRxP provided recommendations for USPTO strategies to promote greater access to affordable alternatives, writing, “in support of improvements to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeals Board (USPTO PTAB), which will thwart abuses of the patent system by brand drug makers that limit competition and inappropriately extend product monopolies.” 

Read CSRxP’s testimony outlining strategies for USPTO to crack down on Big Pharma’s patent abuse and encourage prescription drug competition HERE. 

Read more on measures being taken by the administration to improve USPTO and FDA cooperation to hold Big Pharma accountable HERE. 

Read what U.S. Federal Trade Commission officials and academic experts had to say about Big Pharma’s patent abuse during a recent workshop HERE. 

Read more about how Big Pharma’s patent abuse blocks competition, harms consumers and contributes to ballooning taxpayer spending HERE. 

Learn more about solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower prescription drug prices HERE.