US challenges ‘bogus’ patents on Ozempic and other drugs in effort to spur competition
www.seattletimes.com
The Federal Trade Commission is challenging patents on 20 brand-name drugs, including the blockbuster weight-loss injection Ozempic.

Federal regulators are challenging patents on 20 brand name drugs, including the blockbuster weight-loss injection Ozempic, in the latest action by the Biden administration targeting industry practices that drive up pharmaceutical prices.

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sent warning letters to 10 drugmakers, taking issue with patents on popular drugs for weight loss, diabetes, asthma and other reparatory conditions. The letters allege that certain patents filed by Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and seven other companies are inaccurate or misleading.

Brand-name drugmakers use patents to protect their medicines and stave off cheaper, generic medicines. Most blockbuster drugs are protected by dozens of patents covering various ingredients, manufacturing processes and intellectual property. Generic drugmakers can only launch their own cheaper versions if the patents have expired or are successfully challenged in court.

“By filing bogus patent listings, pharma companies block competition and inflate the cost of prescription drugs, forcing Americans to pay sky-high prices for medicines they rely on,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan, in a statement.

  • glimse@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 months ago

    I’ve been buying my inhalers from someone I met on reddit who happened to live an hour away from me. She has extras because - despite trying to change it - Medicaid keeps sending her twice as many as she needs.

    $50 each. Otherwise I’d be paying $368…and that’s with insurance.

    Fuck these companies. The only difference between these expensive inhalers and the old version ($40 with insurance) is wheel that rotates the numbers but their patent probably expired so they “updated” it

    • Buffalox@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 months ago

      But why isn’t another brand available that makes the old one? Why doesn’t USA have parallel imports which AFAIK is common most places?
      Seem to me the US system is rotten on multiple levels.

      • glimse@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 months ago

        I haven’t looked into it since I got my black market inhalers lookup but if I’m remembering correctly, another company IS making a generic version the old version…it’s just not fuckin covered by insurance.

        I looked at all the cheap online pharmacies (goodrx, those Indian sites) and it still wasn’t affordable

        • Buffalox@lemmy.world
          2·
          2 months ago

          it’s just not fuckin covered by insurance.

          Ah yes, privatized healthcare…
          I really feel sorry for those Americans that actually voted to change that and never got it.

      • bluGill@kbin.social
        1·
        2 months ago

        There might be, but the doctor is prescribing the new one and the old is not substituteable. there may or may not be other differences between the old and new that matter (I don’t know about this case, but in some there are and some there are not) Doctors never prescribe A or B - it is always A and if you want B that needs a new prescription. The doctor needs to know what you have as if there is an allergy or other problem they need to deal with it (if you always get B it may be A doesn’t work for you and we don’t know as you never tried. Or it may be that either would work but you go through withdrawal if you switch)