In case you missed it, members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate recently
called on the U.S. Department of Commerce to prioritize cracking down on Big
Pharma’s egregious abuse of the patent system.





 

December 19, 2025



TOPLINE



In case you missed it, members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate recently
called on the U.S. Department of Commerce to prioritize cracking down on Big
Pharma’s egregious abuse of the patent system, particularly around brand name
drug companies’ use of patent thickets to block competition from more
affordable alternatives to high-priced biologic drugs.



In a letter on December 5, U.S. Representatives Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19),
Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35), August Pfluger (R-TX-11) and U.S. Senator Peter Welch
(D-VT) urged U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to consider
endorsing solutions, including the bipartisan Eliminating Thickets to Increase
Competition (ETHIC) Act, which wasreintroduced
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in the U.S. Senate in July, to crack down on Big Pharma’s abuse of the patent
system. A U.S. House companion version of the bill wasintroduced
<[link removed]> in May.



“Duplicative patent thickets create significant barriers to market entry for
biosimilars and generics, delaying access to affordable medications and
sustaining high drug prices for patients,” the December 5letter
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states. “As a bipartisan group of members committed to lowering drug prices,
we write to urge the U.S. Department of Commerce to prioritize addressing the
issue of patent thickets surrounding branded pharmaceutical products,
particularly biologics, as a critical pro-competition reform.” Read the full
lawmaker letter to Secretary LutnickHERE
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.



Also, during a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing
<[link removed]> last Friday, U.S.
Representative Dave Taylor (R-OH-02) called on his fellow lawmakers to shine a
light on the egregious prices set by Big Pharma on blockbuster brand name drugs
by advancing the bipartisan Drug-price Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act.
This commonsense solution to boost list price transparency wasintroduced
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in the U.S. House by Taylor and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09)
in June. A U.S. Senate version of the bill wasreintroduced
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by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in January.



The bill would require Big Pharma to disclose the price of their products in
advertising targeted directly to consumers. This would help shine a light on
Big Pharma’s egregious pricing practices — arming policymakers and the public
with greater transparency into the prices set by manufacturers on blockbuster
brand name products, serving as a deterrent to price-gouging and empowering
patients with useful information as they weigh the best treatment options for
their individual health care needs.Watch Representative Taylor’s full remarks
from the Energy and Commerce hearingHERE
<[link removed]>.



QUOTES OF THE WEEK



“Current patent thicket schemes undermine competitive frameworks that are

intended to reduce costs for the patient and the Medicare program as a whole.”



U.S. Representative Jodey Arrington (R-TX), U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett
(D-TX), U.S. Representative August Pfluger (R-TX) and U.S. Senator Peter Welch
(D-VT)
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DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW



66.7 Percent



An American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) survey
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found that two-thirds – 66.7 percent – of pharmaceutical companies did not
proactively disclose their drugs’ launch prices between 2022 and 2024.



TWEETS OF THE WEEK



@Runaway_Rx <[link removed]>: “If
biosimilars can lower health costs, why aren’t more on the market? It’s because
#BigPharma works hard to block more affordable competitors from entering the
market so their prices can remain sky-high. Read more about how Big Pharma is
abusing the patent system to block affordable generic drugs in @KFF.
#TheProblemIsThePrice”



@realtahiramin <[link removed]>:
“Get ready for pharma companies to ratchet up ‘lifecycle management’ strategies
under the language of ‘innovation’ to squeeze even more $ from their
blockbusters as they all chase the new $1T benchmark set by Eli Lilly”



ROAD TO RECOVERY



The Minnesota Star Tribune: Opinion: Minnesota Can’t Let Big Pharma Hike
Prices Unchecked
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Our tax dollars fund the research and development of nearly every new drug on
the market. Pharmaceutical companies profit most from medicines built with
public funding, then turn around and charge us outrageous prices. In 2021, a
U.S. Senate report showed that 50 executives from just 10 companies received
$1.9 billion. They stood to gain an additional $2.8 billion in golden
parachutes, while every Minnesotan pays the price. Whether it’s at the pharmacy
counter or through rising insurance premiums, we all shoulder the burden of
unchecked corporate greed. That’s why Minnesota’s Prescription Drug
Affordability Board (PDAB) matters… By setting upper payment limits, similar to
those implemented in Maryland and Colorado, we ensure that prices are capped
and that Big Pharma can’t hike prices unchecked, which helps us build a fairer
system where people’s health and lives take priority over corporate profits.



PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS



Fierce Pharma: Many Consumers Don't Like TV Drug Ads' Frequency, 'Misleading'
Visuals: SiriusXM Study
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A new survey from SiriusXM Media details the issues that many people have with
the current state of TV drug ads—and highlights an opportunity for greater
investment in audio ads instead. The pharma- and healthcare-focused report
comprises responses from more than 2,100 adult listeners of the audio
broadcasting giant’s channels, which include the subscription-based SiriusXM
and Pandora music and podcast services. Almost 80% of those surveyed said they
think there are too many pharma ads on TV and streaming video. Regarding those
visual ads, about half of the respondents suggested that the typically
“pleasant and happy” imagery feels “unrealistic or out of touch” when shown
alongside information about a drug’s potential side effects. Indeed, 45% said
those visuals are “misleading,” while 28% called them “distracting,” and 40%
said they can make the listed side effects seem less serious.



Bloomberg: One Generic Cancer Drug Costs $35. Or $134. Or $13,000.
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Ida Martin’s first chemotherapy treatment at Rush University Medical Center
cost her health plan $13,560. When she went down the street to a clinic for her
next infusion three weeks later, the price dropped to $134. “Same drug,
different prices,” said Martin, a 62-year-old cook with colon cancer. The
clinic was even still within the Rush system. “It’s ridiculous.” Health
spending in the US now tops $5 trillion a year with families and companies
facing their steepest insurance premium hikes in years. Politicians often blame
pharmaceutical companies, insurers, wasteful procedures and a bloated system
too tangled to tame.



CBS News: A Mom Was Overjoyed When She Learned A Drug Could Save Her Baby's
Life. Then She Learned It Cost $2 Million.
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Ciji Green's daughter, Maisie, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy,
causing her muscles to waste away. The disease is often fatal before age 2
without treatment. In 2019, a genetic therapy was approved by the Food and Drug
Administration to treat SMA, but the single-dose therapy costs $2 million.
Green's insurance said it wouldn't pay for the new, expensive drug. "I became
very angry, to know that there was something that could help her. And I knew
without a shadow of a doubt I was burying my daughter before she was 2," Green
said.



The Hill: Opinion: The Pharmaceutical Industry’s Frequent Flyers And Empty
Promises
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“Affordability” is the watchword in American politics today. Inflation is
squeezing families, but nothing hits harder than the cost of trying to stay
alive. Yet as patients weigh whether they can afford their prescriptions,
private jets owned by six of the largest U.S. drugmakers touched down at
Washington-area airports at least 127 times this year, according to
flight-tracking data compiled by Endpoints News. That contrast paints a telling
picture. The United States pays nearly three times what other wealthy nations
pay for prescription drugs. Millions of Americans skip doses, split pills or
leave prescriptions unfilled. In 2023, more than one-quarter of adults delayed
or avoided care because they simply couldn’t afford it. Those private planes
aren’t ferrying pharmaceutical executives to Washington to push for drug
affordability and patient access — they’re there to defend the obscene profits
built on the backs of American families.



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