A clutch of headlines last week suggested the U.S. Senate had achieved a breakthrough in the battle to prevent pharmaceutical companies from abusing the patent system, an issue that has been blamed for boosting prescription drug costs for Americans. But while the Senate bill clearly represents a step forward, the impact will not be nearly as great as originally intended by lawmakers due to industry lobbying.
A lead sponsor of long-sought legislation, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), boasted that the bill, which was first introduced in May 2019, would thwart the use of so-called patent thickets. The term refers to the use of dozens, even hundreds, of patents granted for a medicine to a brand-name drug company, which can then use these patents to prevent would-be generic rivals from selling a lower-cost version.
Critics of the pharmaceutical industry argue that many of these patents are not novel inventions that benefit patients, but instead are merely tweaks. Yet by assembling so many patents, a brand-name company creates expensive and time-consuming litigation barriers that can delay a generic manufacturer from reaching the market. Such practices provided the impetus for the effort to take aim at patent thickets.
