Recent Federal Legislative Proposals Addressing Drug Cost and Access in the U.S.
Panel
Panel 13: Drug Cost and Access IV
Moderator
Wendy Soe-McKeeman, Vice President of State Programs, California Association of Health Plans & Niraj Chaudhary, Associate University Librarian, University of the Pacific
Description
The 116th United States Congress went into session in January 2019, and already its members have introduced many dozens of bills aimed at reducing the cost of drugs and improving access. Some are identical or similar to bills that were introduced in previous meetings of Congress, while others represent novel legislative approaches. While some are narrowly tailored to a specific concern, such as the cost of insulin, others would dramatically alter the intellectual property and regulatory regime as it pertains to pharmaceuticals, or change the way in which drugs are priced, distributed, and paid for. Many of the proposals aim to increase price competition by facilitating earlier market entry of generic and biosimilar versions of drugs, and expanding the number of competitors. Others seek to address drug cost more directly by imposing price controls, allowing for importation of drugs from countries where they are sold at a lower price, or by mandating price transparency. My presentation will provide a broad overview of where things stand at the moment, along with some analysis of selected legislation, as time permits.
Location
Pacific McGeorge School of Law, Lecture Hall, 3200 Fifth Ave., Sacramento, CA
Recent Federal Legislative Proposals Addressing Drug Cost and Access in the U.S.
Pacific McGeorge School of Law, Lecture Hall, 3200 Fifth Ave., Sacramento, CA
The 116th United States Congress went into session in January 2019, and already its members have introduced many dozens of bills aimed at reducing the cost of drugs and improving access. Some are identical or similar to bills that were introduced in previous meetings of Congress, while others represent novel legislative approaches. While some are narrowly tailored to a specific concern, such as the cost of insulin, others would dramatically alter the intellectual property and regulatory regime as it pertains to pharmaceuticals, or change the way in which drugs are priced, distributed, and paid for. Many of the proposals aim to increase price competition by facilitating earlier market entry of generic and biosimilar versions of drugs, and expanding the number of competitors. Others seek to address drug cost more directly by imposing price controls, allowing for importation of drugs from countries where they are sold at a lower price, or by mandating price transparency. My presentation will provide a broad overview of where things stand at the moment, along with some analysis of selected legislation, as time permits.
Speaker Bio
Chris Holman is a visiting professor of law and interim director of the IP Center at Drake Law School, on leave from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Professor Holman has a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology, and before becoming a law professor worked as a researcher at a major pharmaceutical company, a chemistry professor, and a patent lawyer both in-house at biotechnology companies and at a major intellectual property law firm. He has written and published extensively on topics relating to patent and copyright law and their intersection with biotechnology and life sciences. He has also authored multiple amicus briefs for the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court in important intellectual property cases. He is the Executive Editor of the Biotechnology Law Report, and author of the publication’s bimonthly Holman Report. Professor Holman is a senior scholar at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property, housed at the Anthony Scalia Law School at George Mason University.