Two leading Democratic lawmakers late last week wrote a letter urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to strengthen and finalize guidance for so-called march-in rights.

"Our review of the comments indicates that the exercise of march-in rights has received broad support from seniors, from dozens of health care providers and from the broader public," wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. "More than 85% of comments were in favor of the proposal, and these comments reveal that this is a popular framework that will help reduce exorbitant drug costs."

March-in rights are given to allow the federal government to grant patent licenses to other parties or to take licenses for themselves if they helped fund the patent owner's research and development. Such licenses even can be granted to competitors if the government deems it necessary. The proposal would help boost competition and reduce prices for American families by allowing the federal government to step in when private actors, including drug manufacturers, charge exorbitant prices for products that taxpayers helped pay to develop, the lawmakers said.