In case you missed it, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of
Justice (DOJ) recently held a listening session on anti-competitive tactics Big
Pharma uses to maintain monopoly pricing over blockbuster brand name products.





 

July 11, 2025



TOPLINE



In case you missed it, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of
Justice (DOJ) recently held a listening session on anti-competitive tactics Big
Pharma uses to maintain monopoly pricing over blockbuster brand name products.



Experts and consumer advocates highlighted Big Pharma’s egregious abuse of the
U.S. patent system during the session, including discussing tactics like
“patent thicketing” – where a Big Pharma company files dozens or even hundreds
of patents on a single medication to extend exclusivity. Big Pharma’s patent
abuse blocks competition from more affordable alternatives, like generics and
biosimilars. A 2023analysis
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found patent thickets on just five blockbuster drugs resulted in more than $16
billion in lost savings in a single year.



Just last month, the FTC announced it would challenge the validity of more
than 200 patents on brand name prescription drugs listed in the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)’s Orange Book. The agency’s Orange Book crackdown and
listening session should help shine a light on Big Pharma’s egregious
anti-competitive practices and should add to bipartisan momentum in Congress
for market-based solutions to lower drug prices for the American people.



Read more on what experts and advocates had to say during the listening session
HERE
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. Read more about Big Pharma’s patent abuseHERE
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and read more on bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma
accountableHERE <[link removed]>.



QUOTES OF THE WEEK



“Large, complex, high stakes drug markets do attract aggressive
anti-competitive behaviors… The collective effects of a host of
anti-competitive tactics, some of which we've already discussed, but including
things like patent thickets and product hopping, raise the risk to
manufacturers that the time and cost required to bring a biosimilar to market
will be extended in an unpredictable manner. These strategies create
uncertainty and are unequivocally inefficient.”



- Alex Brill, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
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DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW



$10.1 Billion



The total advertising spend on marketing all prescription drugs across all
channels in 2024, according to areport
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from Fierce Pharma.



TWEETS OF THE WEEK



@BasedMikeLee <[link removed]>: “I have
a bill called the Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act. Recently reintroduced in
the Senate with fresh bipartisan support, the bill aims to streamline FDA
regulations for biologics like insulin, Humira, and Remicade. High costs are
still a barrier, and needless bureaucratic hurdles are to blame. Time for a
change!”



@P4ADNOW <[link removed]>: “Big Pharma says
lower drug prices will hurt investment in new drugs – but the data proves that
isn’t true. Since the passing of the 2022 prescription drug law, drug companies
have increased research and development spending to $237B, proving it’s
possible to have fairer prices and innovation.”



ROAD TO RECOVERY



Inside Health Policy: CSRxP: They Said It! Consumer Advocates And Experts
Shine A Light On Big Pharma’s Egregious Anti-Competitive Tactics That Extend
Monopolies And Keep Drug Prices High
<[link removed]>



In case you missed it, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of
Justice (DOJ) on Monday held a listening session on anti-competitive tactics
Big Pharma uses to maintain monopoly pricing over blockbuster brand name
products. Consumer advocates at Monday’s session called for reining in forms of
patent abuse like “patent thicketing” – where a Big Pharma company files dozens
or even hundreds of patents on a single medication to extend exclusivity – that
block competition from more affordable generic or biosimilar alternatives. Such
tactics significantly drive up costs for patients, with patent thickets on just
five drugs amounting to more than $16 billion in lost savings over a single
year.



The People’s Defender: Taylor Introduces Bill Requiring Price Transparency For
Prescription Drugs
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Congressman Dave Taylor (OH-02) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
recently introduced the bipartisan Drug-Price Transparency for Consumers Act of
2025, which would require drug companies to include the list price of
prescription drugs in all direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements…“CSRxP
commends Rep. Taylor and Rep. Schakowsky for their introduction of a U.S. House
companion to the bipartisan Drug-price Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act,
that will help deter price-gouging by requiring disclosure of the prices set by
brand name drug companies on blockbuster products in advertising directly
targeting consumers,” said a spokesperson from the Campaign for Sustainable Rx
Pricing (CSRxP).



Inside Health Policy: Industry Groups Renew Push To Drop Interchangeable
Distinction
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Over 40 industry and patient advocacy groups are urging lawmakers to support a
bill that would remove the distinction between biosimilars and interchangeable
biosimilars, coming as FDA also asks Congress to put an end to the distinction
and in the meantime tries to make it easier for biosimilars to get the
“interchangeable” label. In a Tuesday (July 8) letter from the Association for
Accessible Medicines and the Biosimilars Council, signed by 39 drug industry
and patient advocacy groups, leaders of the House and Senate health committees
are encouraged to support the Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act to increase
patient access and reduce health care costs.



PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS



PharmaVoice: Pricing Watchdog Will Take On The Rising Cost Of Drugs At Launch
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Drug prices — particularly those set at launch by pharma companies — are
spiraling upward, according to industry watchdog the Institute for Clinical and
Economic Review. With a new report expected in October, ICER aims to explore
the depth of these pricing increases, as well as how they relate to efficacy
and access. The organization points to an analysis from April, which found that
cancer drugs with higher launch prices between 2008 and 2022 weren’t
necessarily more effective despite doubling from a net of $100,000 to $200,000
in that time. When it comes to patient access in the U.S., payer coverage adds
another dynamic that further complicates the true cost of drugs, ICER said.



STAT News: How Regeneron, Maker Of A Best-Selling Eye Drug, Is Using Patent
Tactics To Thwart Competition
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A court battle between two of the nation’s largest biotechs — Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals and Amgen — is testing the legal limits of how far drugmakers
can go in using patents to thwart competition. And the case is being closely
watched by companies that sell biosimilar medicines amid concerns that the U.S.
patent system is being gamed in ways that critics say can maintain high prices
for medicines



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