A can of Ozempic and its contents sit on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, Britain, October 31, 2023.
Lee Smith | Reuters
The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday it is challenging hundreds of allegedly “junk” patents held by pharmaceutical companies for 20 brand-name drugs, including Novo Nordisk blockbuster diabetes drugs Ozempic, Saxenda and Victoza.
The announcement expands the Biden administration’s efforts to crack down on alleged patent abuse by the pharmaceutical industry. The FTC argued that drugmakers unnecessarily list dozens of additional patents for brand-name drugs in order to keep their drug prices high and prevent their generic competitors from entering the U.S. market.
The patent disputes add to a broader effort by the Biden administration to make health care more affordable for Americans – a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
On Tuesday, the agency sent letters to 10 companies, warning them that some drug patents were not properly listed. This includes Novo Nordisk, AstraZenecaBoehringer Ingelheim, Covis Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Teva Pharmaceuticals And Amphastar Pharmaceuticals as well as some of their subsidiaries.
Most patented medicines are for type 2 diabetes, as well as asthma and COPD inhalers.
Most top-selling drugs are protected by dozens of patents covering various ingredients, manufacturing processes and intellectual property. Generic drug makers can only launch cheaper versions of a brand-name drug if the patents have expired or are successfully challenged in court.
“By filing false patent listings, pharmaceutical companies block competition and inflate the cost of prescription drugs, forcing Americans to pay exorbitant prices for the medicines they rely on,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan , in a press release. “By challenging unwanted patent filings, the FTC is combatting these illegal tactics and ensuring that Americans can access timely, innovative versions of the medicines they need.”
The FTC also informed the Food and Drug Administration of the challenges. The FDA maintains patent listings for approved drugs on a document called the Orange Book.
The FTC first challenged dozens of brand-name drug patents last fall, leading three drugmakers to comply and remove their patents from the FDA’s patent roll. Five other companies did not do so.
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