Senators push Commerce Department to finalize rules on lowering drug prices

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.

The letter called attention to an analysis revealing widespread public support for the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s draft guidance, which garnered more than 50,000 comments, including remarks submitted by individuals from all 50 states. Comments from health care providers discussed the impact of high drug costs on patients, and older adults repeatedly mentioned their struggle to afford medications, often having to make difficult decisions about how to spend limited resources.

“NIST should finalize this framework to ensure that taxpayer-funded inventions are accessible and affordable to the public,” Warren and Doggett wrote. “Doing so would send a clear message that government is on the side of the American people who underwrite these important discoveries — not big pharma.”

The comments revealed that Americans are paying more for drugs that their tax dollars were used to develop than what residents in other high-income countries are paying for those same drugs, the letter said. The comments further reflect concerns from health care providers, who are calling for change on behalf of their patients and Americans all across the country, especially seniors, who are struggling to afford their medication and view march-in rights as a way to reduce drug prices.

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“Although big pharmaceutical companies are fighting this commonsense framework,” the letter concluded, “there is a consensus among seniors, health care providers and the general public: price must be a factor in agencies’ considerations for the use of march-in rights. We urge you to strengthen and finalize the guidance without delay to ensure that American taxpayers and consumers are able to access taxpayer-funded inventions at affordable prices.”