Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced a half-dozen bills addressing drug pricing, some of which would overhaul the patent system to take aim at industry practices that critics blame for delaying competition from generics.
Why it matters: The near-unanimous bipartisan support shows that momentum remains in the Senate for using patent system changes to address high pharmaceutical costs.
Driving the news: Some of the policy changes were approved in the committee more than two years ago, when Democrats controlled the chamber. But only one, addressing "patent thickets," made it into the health package that was considered for the December government funding deal.
What they're saying: "Today's markup is about addressing the high cost of prescription drugs and the practices that keep prices high for the American families. These bills are not new," said Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley.
- "We're taking another shot at making sure consumers aren't being taken advantage of by anticompetitive practices."
Zoom in: The legislation included a patent overhaul plan from Sens. John Cornyn and Richard Blumenthal that was split into two bills for the markup: one addressing patent thickets and the other dealing with "product hopping."
- Both were approved via voice vote. Only Sen. Marsha Blackburn opposed the product-hopping bill.
- A 2024 CBO estimate had the policy changes saving $3 billion over a decade.
Product hopping is a practice in which a company makes a small change to a drug in an attempt to extend its period of market exclusivity. Patent thickets are when manufacturers file multiple patents on one product to forestall generic competition.
- Two other bills from Grassley and Sen. Amy Klobuchar — the Stop STALLING Act and Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars — were also advanced at the markup.
- Both aim to improve access to generic drugs, with one limiting "pay for delay" deals and the other deterring pharmaceutical companies from filing what critics call "sham citizen petitions" that could interfere with generic drug approvals.
Between the lines: Grassley also called on the FTC to finish its examination of the role PBMs play in drug pricing.
- Another bill the committee considered and advanced at the markup, the Prescription Pricing for the People Act, would require the FTC to complete a study on the effects of consolidation on pricing for PBMs and provide policy recommendations to Congress.
Judiciary Democrats raised concerns at the markup over the Trump administration's decision to pause an FTC lawsuit against three major PBMs after two Democratic commissioners were fired.
- "The two Republican FTC commissioners are recused from the case, and the two Democratic commissioners have been locked out of the building," said Sen. Mazie Hirono. "So who can actually hear that administrative action against these PBMs? We have no idea. This situation is unprecedented."
