Vizient Endorses Legislation to Empower the FTC to Challenge Prescription Drug Patent Abuses

May 14, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

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.

Contacts

Angie Boliver
(972) 830-7961
[email protected]