The Biden Administration announced a new policy on Thursday, enabling the seizure of patents for medicines developed with government funding if deemed excessively priced. This move outlines the government’s “march-in rights,” a never-before-used authority allowing the government to grant licenses to third parties for federally funded products if the original patent holders fail to offer them at reasonable prices.
White House adviser Lael Brainard stated, “We’ll make it clear that when drug companies won’t sell taxpayer-funded drugs at reasonable prices, we will be prepared to allow other companies to provide those drugs for less.” This policy shift follows previous reluctance to seize patents, as seen in the government’s decision not to force Pfizer and Astellas Pharma to reduce the price of their prostate cancer drug, Xtandi.
The public has 60 days to comment on this proposal. Megan Van Etten, a spokesperson for PhRMA, criticized the move, arguing it could hinder innovation and patient care, suggesting a regression to times when government research remained unused.
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