IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vizient offered its formal endorsement of the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. This bipartisan Senate legislation targets “patent thickets” and other patent abuses that brand name pharmaceutical manufacturers utilize to delay market competition from generic and biosimilar drugs.
The Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act would enable the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take steps to challenge prescription drug manufacturers who may file hundreds of patents, known as “patent thickets,” around a prescription drug to delay or prevent generic or biosimilar competition from entering the market. The legislation would similarly empower the FTC to target “product hopping” where a drug manufacturer makes very small changes to a drug, without significantly changing the product’s formulation to gain market exclusivity on the “new” product. Vizient applauds Senators Cornyn and Blumenthal for their leadership in introducing this important bill.
“Vizient is proud to support this bipartisan legislation that would take an impactful step to empower the FTC to crack down on some of the most egregious patent system abuses that delay competition and keep drug prices unsustainably high. It seems like every day, a new tactic employed by drug makers is identified – either through the patent system or other practices – that is solely designed to prevent access to less costly medicines for patients and hospitals. This bill will strongly discourage such tactics, and we hope Congress will act soon to advance it into law,” said Dan Kistner, senior vice president pharmacy solutions for Vizient.
Vizient continues to work with Congress in advocating for legislation that will reduce drug prices for patients and our hospital members. Including the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act, Vizient has already endorsed four bipartisan bills this year with the shared goal of lowering drug costs: the CREATES Act, the FAST Generics Act and the Biologic Patent Transparency Act, another bipartisan Senate bill targeting patent thickets.
Vizient is the nation’s largest health care performance improvement company serving a diverse membership that includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health care delivery networks and non-acute health care providers.
About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country, provides innovative data-driven solutions, expertise and collaborative opportunities that lead to improved patient outcomes and lower costs. Vizient’s diverse membership base includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers and represents approximately $100 billion in annual purchasing volume. In 2019, Vizient again received a World’s Most Ethical Company designation from the Ethisphere Institute. Vizient’s headquarters are in Irving, Texas, with locations in Chicago and other cities across the United States. Please visit www.vizientinc.com as well as our newsroom, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages for more information about the company.
