A box of Ozempic and its contents lie on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, UK, October 31, 2023.
Lee Smith | Reuters
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission said yes defiant hundreds of alleged “junk” patents held by pharmaceutical companies for 20 brand-name drugs, incl by Novo Nordisk blockbuster drugs Ozempic, Saxenda and Victoza.
The FTC sent letters to 10 companies warning them that some drug patents had been incorrectly listed. These companies include Novo Nordisk, AstraZenecaBoehringer Ingelheim, Covis Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Teva pharmaceutical company AND Amphastar pharmaceutical companyas well as certain of their subsidiaries.
Many drug patents cover type 2 diabetes, asthma and inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
Most best-selling drugs are protected by dozens of patents covering various ingredients, manufacturing processes and intellectual property. Generic drugmakers can only bring cheaper versions of branded drugs to market when the patents have expired or been successfully challenged in court.
“By filing false patent listings, pharmaceutical companies block competition and inflate the prices of prescription drugs, forcing Americans to pay exorbitantly high prices for the drugs they rely on,” FTC Chairman Lina Khan said in a statement. “By challenging junk patent applications, the FTC is fighting this illegal tactic and ensuring Americans can quickly access pioneering and affordable versions of the medicines they need.”
The FTC also notified the Food and Drug Administration of the challenges. The FDA manages patent lists of approved drugs in a document called the Orange Book.
First the FTC questioned dozens of patents for brand-name drugs last fall, prompting three drugmakers to comply and withdraw their patents from the FDA. Five other companies did not.
Tuesday’s announcement adds to the Biden administration’s efforts to crack down on alleged patent abuse by the pharmaceutical industry. The FTC argues that drugmakers are needlessly exchanging dozens of additional patents for brand-name drugs to keep drug prices high and prevent generic competitors from entering the U.S. market.
The patent litigation contributes to the Biden administration’s broader effort to make health care more affordable for Americans, a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
