THEY SAID IT! SENATE JUDICIARY CALLS OUT BIG PHARMA’S ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES THAT KEEP PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES HIGH

Senators on Both Sides of the Aisle Highlight Concerns with Big Pharma’s Patent Abuse, While Advancing Bipartisan, Market-Based Solutions to Boost Competition

Last week, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary advanced several bipartisan, market-based solutions to address Big Pharma’s anti-competitive tactics that keep drug prices high during an Executive Business Meeting. During the hearing, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle highlighted the importance of holding Big Pharma accountable, especially for abuse of the U.S. patent system.

CSRxP-supported legislation passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee during their recent markup includes:

• S. 1040. The Drug Competition Enhancement Act
• S. 1041. The Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act
• S. 1097. The Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act of 2025
• S. 1095. The Stop Significant and Time-Wasting Abuse Limiting Legitimate Innovation of New Generics (STALLING) Act
• S. 1096. The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act

Here is what lawmakers had to say in opening statements and key exchanges during the hearing:

Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senate Committee on the Judiciary:

“Consumers are being taken advantage of by anti-competitive practices, which then stop cheaper generics from reaching the market in a timely fashion. It’s time to make the system work better for people who need it most, the patients and consumers who can’t afford to keep paying sky-high prices for their prescription drugs. The bills that we’re discussing today are designed to directly tackle these issues.”

“…We also want to fix abusive patent practices and strengthen agency collaboration…We want to prevent companies from gaming the system through product hopping and patent thickets…This will make it easier for generics to obtain approval, and get on the market quicker, thus lowering costs for everyone.” 

“If you take Eloquis and the patent runs out, they’re gonna keep the generic off the market until 2028. Keep the price up. What more do you need to encourage innovation in the United States than 12 years of patent protection? When that runs out, you ought to be able to get the generic on the market.”

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): 

“I share the Chairman’s very well-articulated impatience with the pace of reform in the patent area, particularly as it affects prescription drugs. The fact is drug prices are too high. One of the reasons is that big pharmaceutical companies, Big Pharma, are able to game the patent system, engaging in a patent dance that creates barriers to innovation and competition. Generics and biosimilars play a critical role in making drugs more affordable, but pharmaceutical companies abuse and manipulate the patent system to block generics from coming to the market and providing more affordable and accessible means of treatment for the average American.”

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): 

“Each of these bills addresses a problem that leads to higher drug prices for patients, and I appreciate Senator Blumenthal for working with me over many years now, to try to get these bills across the finish line and to President Trump’s desk.”

“On S. 1040, the Drug Competition Enforcement Act was previously part of the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act and has passed out of the committee for several congresses in a row. This bill, as you noted earlier, addresses a phenomenon called product hopping. This is a practice where a company will hop patients from one drug that’s close to losing exclusivity under its patent to a similar newer drug or maybe even one with a new label or maybe one with a different dose requirement, in order to deliberately foreclose generic competition.”

“…S. 1041. This bill is designed to address a situation where manufacturers actually file for multiple patents on the same drug in order to prevent any competition. In fact, one of the most infamous examples of that is the case of one manufacturer who has filed over 100, and I believe it’s closer to 130, different patents on the same drug in order to prevent it from ever going generic. This bill makes thoughtful reforms of the process by which biologic drug makers and biosimilar competitors can voluntarily resolve any patent litigation. It’ll increase the speed at which competitor drugs should come to market, increasing options for consumers and lowering prices. This bill passed the Senate unanimously last year, and I look forward to moving it out of the Senate with all due speed this year.”

Read CSRxP’s statement on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Executive Business Meeting HERE.

Read more about Big Pharma’s out-of-control drug prices HERE and patent abuse HERE.

Learn more about market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug prices HERE.