Making good on a recent threat, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is challenging more than 100 patents on brand-name medicines that were improperly or inaccurately listed by some of the world’s biggest drug companies in a key government registry.
The agency notified 10 companies that listings for dozens of patents on such medicines as asthma inhalers and epinephrine autoinjectors are being disputed. The companies that received warning notices included AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Mylan Specialty, Boehringer Ingelheim, and subsidiaries of GSK and Teva Pharmaceutical. The companies have 30 days to withdraw or amend their patent listings, or certify under penalty of perjury that the listings comply with federal law and regulations.
The move comes two months after the FTC issued a policy statement noting some drug companies have failed to follow requirements for listing patents in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Orange Book in hopes of thwarting competition from lower-cost generic medicines. This registry is used to put generic companies on notice about certain types of patents that a brand-name company claims cover its drug.