Curbs on patent thicketing welcomed by campaigners

The US Senate has unanimously passed the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023 (S-150).

This action is aimed at curbing abuses of the patent system by tackling pharmaceutical companies’ perceived ‘patent thicketing’ of biologics.

This practice occurs when pharma companies file numerous additional patents to create what opponents have called an impenetrable "thicket" around a drug product, forcing potential generic or biosimilar entrants to navigate through each patent in costly litigation before they can reach the market, effectively extending the brand-name drug's monopoly and keeping prices high.