(Washington, D.C.) — The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) issued the following statement on the introduction of the Eliminating Thickets to Improve Competition (ETHIC) Act:

“We applaud U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) for introducing the Eliminating Thickets to Improve Competition (ETHIC) Act  to support competition in the prescription drug market and address the egregious patent abuse by some drug companies.

“Patent abuse is anticompetitive, drives up health care costs, and limits access to prescription drugs for patients who need them. Increased competition in the prescription drug marketplace is a proven path to lower drug costs, and this bill would be a step in the right direction toward preventing delays to market entry and promoting more competition.

“The bipartisan ETHIC legislation ‘streamlines patent litigation by limiting to one, the number of patents per patent thicket a pharmaceutical company can assert in litigation; prohibits a patent owner from asserting multiple patents from the same thicket in separate actions against the same alleged infringer to circumvent the intent of the law; and, safeguards quality patents that improve existing drugs, benefiting patients.’

“By closing the loopholes that Big Pharma uses to keep their profit margins high, patients will benefit from greater access and health plan sponsors, including employers and labor unions, will see lower prescription drug costs. PBMs support lower list prices on all prescription drugs for every patient and advocate strongly for policies that deliver on that mission.”

Learn more about how PBMs are innovating to increase biosimilar use and lower prescription drug costs HERE.

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit companies. Pharmacy benefit companies are working every day to secure savings, enable better health outcomes, and support access to quality prescription drug coverage for more than 289 million patients.