Drop prices or lose patent rights, say White House hopefuls
US presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker have tabled a bill that would force drug companies to adhere to government-set prices-or risk losing patent exclusivity.
The bill, titled The Prescription Drug Affordability and Access Act, would create a new Bureau of Prescription Drug Affordability and Access responsible for setting the prices of prescription drugs.
Drugmakers who fail to adhere to the new prices would lose their patent exclusivity, allowing generic competitors to enter the market.
The bill was proposed by Booker, and co-sponsored by Sanders and fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris.
Under the proposed law, a drugmaker preparing to bring a new product to market would be required to submit information to the bureau on the cost of R&D, the cost of the drug and comparable products in other countries, and any federal investments that contributed to its discovery and production.
In a press release, Booker said the proposed bureau was modelled after Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), which is responsible for monitoring whether a drug is excessively priced by international norms.
Canada is set to remove the US from its reference list for comparing international drug prices due to the cost of medicines next year, in light of the high cost of medicines in the US.
“In a country as wealthy as ours, it’s downright shameful that people have to choose between taking their medicine or paying for other basic necessities,” Booker said.
Commenting on his support of the bill, Sanders said that the “greed of the pharmaceutical industry has gone unchecked for too long”.
“There is no rational reason why Americans should be forced to pay $300 for a vial of insulin that costs $30 in Canada,” Sanders said.
In a statement sent to LSIPR, Robert Weissman, president of the Public Citizen campaign, said the organisation was “proud to offer its strong endorsement of this legislation”.
“It recognises that big pharma’s power comes from the grant of patent and other monopolies–and that we the people have the power to end those monopolies if drug corporations refuse to price their products reasonably,” Weissman said.
