WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. Senate Republicans voiced reservations on Thursday about a bill designed to stop drug makers from striking deals to restrict the introduction of cheaper generic drugs.
Even as they voted to endorse a bill cracking down on drug patent settlements, some Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they would not back final passage unless substantial changes were made to it.
"In its current form, I can't support it," Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said at a committee meeting.
The generic drug bill proposed by Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin targets an increasingly common tactic used by brand-name drug makers -- legal settlements that involve payments to generic rivals to delay the introduction of cheaper alternatives.
The bill would ban any settlement that included both a payment to the generic drug maker and a delay in the introduction of its generic drug.
Generic drugs typically cost less than brand name drugs. A generic competitor can enter the market before a brand-name drug patent expires if it can show the patent to be invalid or not infringed on by the copycat version.
Legislation to ban the patent settlements was backed by a member of the Federal Trade Commission at a committee hearing last month. The agency has challenged several patent settlement deals, but has lost key cases in court.
Those court decisions have emboldened the industry and led to an increasing number of deals in the past two years. Both brand-name and generic drug makers oppose the bill pushed by Kohl and Leahy.
At a committee hearing last month, industry officials argued that many patent settlements allowed generic versions to be sold before the expiration of the brand name patents. They said an outright ban could hurt innovation and cut the incentive of generic companies to enter the market.
At Thursday's meeting, Republicans said they backed efforts to stop anti-competitive drug patent settlements. But they said a ban on all settlements proposed by Kohl and Leahy was too broad and could thwart some pro-competitive deals.
Democrats control the Senate with 51 of 100 seats. But 60 votes would be needed to end a possible Republican procedural roadblock.
Republicans agreed to help advance the bill out of committee, as Democrats said they would seek a compromise to address their concerns before bringing it to the floor for a full Senate vote.
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter said he had drafted a modified version of the bill and favored letting federal courts decide which patent settlements were anti-competitive and which were pro-competitive.
But some backers of Kohl's bill said that would do little to stem the tide of anti-competitive patent deals since the courts have already been treating the deals favorably.
http://news.aol.com/politics/story/_a/some-lawmakers-balk-at-bill-on-patent/n20070215142309990033?cid=771
Even as they voted to endorse a bill cracking down on drug patent settlements, some Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they would not back final passage unless substantial changes were made to it.
"In its current form, I can't support it," Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said at a committee meeting.
The generic drug bill proposed by Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin targets an increasingly common tactic used by brand-name drug makers -- legal settlements that involve payments to generic rivals to delay the introduction of cheaper alternatives.
The bill would ban any settlement that included both a payment to the generic drug maker and a delay in the introduction of its generic drug.
Generic drugs typically cost less than brand name drugs. A generic competitor can enter the market before a brand-name drug patent expires if it can show the patent to be invalid or not infringed on by the copycat version.
Legislation to ban the patent settlements was backed by a member of the Federal Trade Commission at a committee hearing last month. The agency has challenged several patent settlement deals, but has lost key cases in court.
Those court decisions have emboldened the industry and led to an increasing number of deals in the past two years. Both brand-name and generic drug makers oppose the bill pushed by Kohl and Leahy.
At a committee hearing last month, industry officials argued that many patent settlements allowed generic versions to be sold before the expiration of the brand name patents. They said an outright ban could hurt innovation and cut the incentive of generic companies to enter the market.
At Thursday's meeting, Republicans said they backed efforts to stop anti-competitive drug patent settlements. But they said a ban on all settlements proposed by Kohl and Leahy was too broad and could thwart some pro-competitive deals.
Democrats control the Senate with 51 of 100 seats. But 60 votes would be needed to end a possible Republican procedural roadblock.
Republicans agreed to help advance the bill out of committee, as Democrats said they would seek a compromise to address their concerns before bringing it to the floor for a full Senate vote.
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter said he had drafted a modified version of the bill and favored letting federal courts decide which patent settlements were anti-competitive and which were pro-competitive.
But some backers of Kohl's bill said that would do little to stem the tide of anti-competitive patent deals since the courts have already been treating the deals favorably.
http://news.aol.com/politics/story/_a/some-lawmakers-balk-at-bill-on-patent/n20070215142309990033?cid=771
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