Posted by Michael Wonder on 19 Jul 2018
Drug makers game the patent system and reap billions, FDA says
19 July 2018 - Gottlieb issues plan to boost biosimilar market, lower prices.
Efforts by drug makers to thwart less-expensive rivals for pricey biologic medicines cost the U.S. health-care system billions of dollars last year, the FDA’s chief said in laying out a plan to end such practices.
The agency wants to bring greater attention to the market for the complex drugs, which are generally injected or infused. It plans to work with the Federal Trade Commission to stop “gaming tactics” like piling up patents to extend the commercial dominance of brand-name medicines, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a speech on Wednesday in Washington.
