On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on
Intellectual Property held a hearing on The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act
(PERA), a policy that would significantly broaden the scope of what is
patentable in the United States and result in brand-name pharmaceutical
companies being able to gain exclusive rights to what the U.S. Supreme Court
has recognized as products of nature or naturally occurring phenomena.





 

October 10, 2025



TOPLINE



On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on
Intellectual Property held a hearing on The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act
(PERA), a policy that would significantly broaden the scope of what is
patentable in the United States and result in brand-name pharmaceutical
companies being able to gain exclusive rights to what the U.S. Supreme Court
has recognized as products of nature or naturally occurring phenomena.



“PERA would further enable Big Pharma’s patent abuse playbook that keeps drug
prices high in the United States, by significantly broadening the scope of what
is patentable, likely resulting in brand name pharmaceutical companies building
new patent thickets early on in the drug discovery process,” said CSRxP
executive director Lauren Aronson said in astatement
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. “While reforms to the U.S. patent system are necessary, this misguided
proposal would undermine the positive work this committee has undertaken to
strengthen competition and affordability,” Aronson continued. Read CSRxP’s full
statement on PERAHERE
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. And get a Dose of Reality on Big Pharma’s patent abuseHERE
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.



QUOTES OF THE WEEK



“Affordability has been an issue for a long time — drug price increases were
double digits for many years… It’s been a slow burn.”



Jennifer Rick, Senior Policy Fellow, National Academy of State Health Policy
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DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW



$199 Million



The amount that Big Pharma spent on direct-to-consumer advertising on just the
top 10 brand name drugs in September, according toFierce Pharma
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.



TWEETS OF THE WEEK



@realtahiramin <[link removed]>:
“Subcutaneous versions of IV drugs often launch right around the time that IV
patents expire. What a mysterious phenomenon…”



@Runaway_Rx <[link removed]>: “Ever
wonder why you see so many drug ads during your favorite shows? It’s because
#BigPharma poured over $10 billion into prescription drug ads last year, with
the top 10 drug brands accounting for $3.3 billion. No wonder drug costs are so
high! Read more from @l_e_whyte and @AlyssaLukpat in the @WSJ:
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ROAD TO RECOVERY



OpenSecrets: Trump Moves Against Direct-To-Consumer Drug Ads Despite Massive
Lobbying By Pharmaceutical Industry
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President Donald Trump has begun a sweeping crackdown on direct-to-consumer
drug advertising as part of his administration’s Make America Healthy Again
campaign, which could alter the way the U.S. pharmaceutical industry markets
products to consumers. This policy shift comes against the backdrop of more
than $102 million in lobbying on pharmaceutical manufacturing in the first six
months of 2025, making the drug industry one of the most powerful lobbying
forces in the country.



Axios: The Pharmaceutical Industry Isn’t Yet In The Clear
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Drug companies' increasing willingness to negotiate deals with the Trump
administration and voluntarily cut some prices may be making a splash, but the
real-world impact will probably be underwhelming. The pharmaceutical industry's
compromises so far can be best viewed as attempts to avoid tariffs or
undesirable regulatory action by the Trump administration. And it's anyone's
guess as to whether they'll be successful.



PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS



Inside Health Policy: CSRxP: PERA Would Further Enable Big Pharma’s Patent
Abuse That Keeps Prescription Drug Prices High
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“While reforms to the U.S. patent system are necessary, this misguided
proposal would undermine the positive work this committee has undertaken to
strengthen competition and affordability,” Aronson continued. “We respectfully
urge lawmakers to reject this Big Pharma-backed proposal and instead focus on
bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower prescription drug prices by
fostering greater competition from more affordable alternatives, like generics
and biosimilars.”



Reuters: US Court Rejects Novo Nordisk’s Challenge To Medicare Drug Pricing
Plan
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A federal appeals court on Monday rejected Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) challenge
to the U.S. government’s program that gives its Medicare health insurance plan
the power to negotiate lower drug prices, the latest in a barrage of lawsuits
brought by drugmakers to fail. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling dismissing the Danish drugmaker’s
challenge to the program and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services'
selection of six of its insulin products for price negotiations.



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