The Federal Trade Commission on May 21 escalated its efforts to lower prescription drug costs, renewing challenges to more than 200 patents it says were improperly listed to prevent generic versions of brand-name drugs from reaching the market.
The FTC sent warning letters to seven pharmaceutical companies: Novartis, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Mylan Specialty, Covis Pharma, and three Teva entities.
The agency accused them of using invalid or misclassified patents to delay generic competition for 17 drugs, including asthma inhalers, diabetes treatments, and epinephrine autoinjectors (EpiPen). These patents are listed in the FDA’s Orange Book, a database that helps determine which products are eligible for generic approval and exclusivity protections….
FTC Renews Push to Remove Improper Drug Patents That Block Generics
