The Biden administration on Thursday asserted its authority to seize the patents of certain costly medications in a new push to slash high drug prices and promote more pharmaceutical competition.
The administration unveiled a framework outlining the factors federal agencies should consider in deciding whether to use a controversial policy, known as march-in rights, to break the patents of drugs that were developed with federal funds but are not widely accessible to the public. For the first time, officials can now factor in a medication’s price — a change that could have big implications for drugmakers depending on how the government uses the powers.
“When drug companies won’t sell taxpayer-funded drugs at reasonable prices, we will be prepared to allow other companies to provide those drugs for less,” White House National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said during a call with reporters Wednesday.
Drugmakers have argued that seizing the patent for a medication makes that treatment vulnerable to competition, which can reduce a company’s revenue and limit how much it can reinvest into drug development.
Or yknow, maybe spend a few billion less on marketing and TV commercials?
There would be a good governmental oversight: drug companies may no longer advertise their products to the public. I don’t think anyone has ever seen a drug commercial in a positive light; if the drug was effective and worked well you wouldn’t need to advertise it.
I’m probably going to get downvoted for this, but the Biden administration has really exceeded my expectations.
They do great work, but they don’t market and promote their successes well enough. I would prefer a society that favors humility more and therefore appreciate this administration’s style, but it seems that a lack of hubris is now considered a fault in the public eye, on both sides of the aisle.
I would like an administration whose flamboyant about their successes so I know what to expect in my daily life when it comes to politics aka why I see more EVs (rebates funding and a federal charging grid), lower/higher prices on things (like Biden removing patents to create competition) and even insurrectionists going to jail (if we had a working justice system)!
