ICYMI: Senate Judiciary Committee Got It Right on Big Pharma’s Patent Abuse As Root Cause Of High Rx Prices

The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing earlier this summer, "Ensuring Affordable & Accessible Medications: Examining Competition in the Prescription Drug Market." Members of the Committee rightly diagnosed the root cause of out-of-control prescription drug prices in the country: Big Pharma's patent abuse.

As other Congressional committees continue to hold discussions on prescription drug costs, they should similarly hold Big Pharma accountable for their egregious anti-competitive tactics.

See what Members of the Committee on both sides of the aisle said:

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary:

• "Prices just keep going up. In 2022, drug manufacturers raised the prices of more than 1,200 medications by an average of 32 percent, four-times the rate of inflation … The patent system is being manipulated and used by the attorneys to extend the patent's life to avoid competition, generics and bringing down the cost. These blockbuster drugs are covered by an average of 42 active patents.The FTC recently highlighted another page in Big Pharma's anti-competitive playbook when it challenged more than 400 patents as improperly listed in the FDA Orange Book. By listing these patents on inhalers, EpiPens, weight loss drugs and more, their manufacturers delayed generic competition and padded profits."

Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary:

• "Count me in for challenging the patent system. Count me in for trying to find ways to help the American consumer versus people in other countries. I am very open minded about stopping abuse … The idea of playing games with patents needs to stop."

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI):

• "It is clear that we do have abuses in the patent system and I think it is important for us to very carefully target the abuses as opposed to passing legislation that is going to be overbroad."

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX):

• "I'm angry when I look at the abuse of the patent system by filing as many as 165 patents for something like Humira."

Senator Peter Welch (D-VT):

• "Do you know how much the top 15 biggest drug companies reported in revenue in the first quarter of 2024? $173 billion. Does that sound about right? … Well, it's $173 billion. And of that, about 14 percent - $25 billion - was spent on research. By the way, that isn't specified as to whether it's for a new molecule or a combination of an active ingredient or marketing. Novo brought in $9.5 billion in the first quarter and spent only $1.2 billion on R&D. Do you know how much Novo spent on shareholder dividends and buybacks? $4.5 billion. So, there is a question here with the advertising expenditures, with the shareholder buybacks and the dividends."

The Senate Judiciary Committee has held several similar hearings and legislative markups in the past, where members have demonstrated strong support for cracking down on patent abuse and questioned Big Pharma's egregious anti-competitive practices.

For example, during a February 2023 hearing, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) said:

"Sham petitions and product hopping are all potentially concerning forms of anti-competitive conduct that can harm consumers. And when necessary, Congress should ensure that consumers are protected from these abuses and that our pharmaceutical markets remain competitive."

And during a July 2021 hearing, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), asked a hearing witness:

"Let me ask you to comment on something former FDA Commissioner Scoot Gottlieb said a few years ago, that patent thickets are purely designed to deter the entry of approved biosimilars. His view was that there's no real business need here - it's about profits. My question would be that if your clients aren't trying to behave in an anti-competitive way, then why aren't all the relevant patent applications for a particular drug filed at once, up-front so to speak, when the product comes to market as opposed to staggered over time in a way that tends to lengthen and lengthen and lengthen the protections?"

The most effective way to lower drug prices is by cracking down on patent abuse by drug companies. Big Pharma continues to try to avoid culpability for high drug prices by pushing for policies targeting pharmacy benefits. Misguided policies targeting PBMs would jeopardize employer-sponsored prescription drug coverage and raise costs for everyone.

Congress must reject Big Pharma-backed policies targeting Americans' pharmacy benefits and start to hold Big Pharma accountable.

Learn more about the role and value of pharmacy benefit companies and how Big Pharma's practices lead to high drug prices HERE.

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PCMA is the national association representing America's pharmacy benefit companies. Pharmacy benefit companies are working every day to secure savings, enable better health outcomes, and support access to quality prescription drug coverage for more than 275 million patients.

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