AUSTIN (1080 KRLD) - U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas teamed up with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut to roll out legislation to drive down prescription drug costs.
It’s called the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. It’s designed to curb major drug companies’ anti-competitive use of patents to protect their prescription drugs and prevent generic and biosimilar competition from coming to market.
The goal of the bill is to encourage competition and give patients greater access to prescription drugs at a cheaper cost without stifling innovation or infringing on patent rights.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it will lower Federal spending on prescription drugs and health insurance subsidies by more than a half a billion dollars.
“Drug companies have taken advantage of the patent system to maintain their monopoly on certain drugs and prevent generics from coming to market,” Sen. Cornyn said. “These tactics mean Americans are forced to pay more for the life-saving medications they need. This bill puts patients first and reforms the system to encourage the availability of cheaper generics.”
Cornyn is confident the legislation could be passed by Congress as early as this fall.