As we have previously reported, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) changed the government’s treatment of certain prescription drugs under the Medicare program by directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Drug Price Negotiation Program (“the Program”; see here for a full recap of the Program’s…
The USPTO recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding terminal disclaimers. The proposed rule would require that, for patents where a terminal disclaimer was filed to overcome obviousness-type double patenting, the patentee must agree that the patent on which the terminal disclaimer was filed will be enforceable only if…
Under Section 11403 of The Inflation Reduction Act, effective starting on Monday, October 3, 2022, and for the next five years, Medicare Part B will pay healthcare providers an 8% add-on fee for qualifying biosimilars, replacing the previous 6% markup. The add-on fee applies to qualifying biosimilars whose average sales…
On Tuesday, January 25, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and Ranking Member, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) released a discussion draft of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act). According to the Senate…
On July 13, 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel met to discuss biologic and biosimilar competition and its impact on drug prices. A group of senators, led by Senator Amy Klobuchar, are sponsors of a Senate bill which aims to prohibit biological product manufacturers from compensating biosimilar and interchangeable…
On July 1, 2021, twenty-eight patient advocacy groups submitted a letter demonstrating their support for the BIOSIM Act (H.R. 2815). The legislation was introduced on April 22, 2021 with the purpose of increasing Medicare payments for biosimilars for a five-year period. The letter praises the BIOSIM Act as “critical to…
On April 26, Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced the Star Rating for Biosimilars Act. The proposed legislation would direct the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to evaluate Medicare plans based on whether or not cost-saving biosimilars are available to enrollees and to evaluate…
The Senate passed a bill (S. 164) earlier this month (on March 3, 2021) “[t]o educate health care providers and the public on biosimilar biological products, and for other purposes.” The proposed “Advancing Education on Biosimilars Act of 2021” would add a section to the Public Health Service Act on…
Last Wednesday, State Senator Carla Nelson and State Representative Jennifer Schulz of Minnesota announced the introduction of a bill aimed at reducing the price of certain medications by expanding access to biosimilars. The bill requires that pharmacy benefit managers and health carriers must not require or demonstrate a preference to…
On January 5, 2021, the President signed H.R. 1503 (the Orange Book Transparency Act of 2020). The Orange Book Transparency Act of 2020 clarifies information related to patent listing and the types of patents that should be listed in the Orange Book. The Act also requires that NDA holders notify…