FTC-PR-240206-1
Date Released: 
February 6, 2024
Headline:
FTC-PR-240206-1 – FTC Submits Comment on March-In Rights to Promote Efforts to Lower Drug Prices – Comment submitted to NIST supports the use of march-in rights as a check on inflated pharmaceutical prices
Excerpt:
Today the Federal Trade Commission issued a comment in response to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) request for information on its Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights under the Bayh-Dole Act.
Under the Bayh-Dole Act, the federal government has the right to “march in” on patents on inventions created using taxpayer funds—to require the patent holder to license the federally funded patent to other applicants. The draft interagency framework provides guidance outlining when the government should exercise its march-in rights, which have never before been utilized. The draft framework makes clear that high price is an appropriate basis for exercising march-in rights.
In the comment, the FTC applauds NIST, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Interagency Working Group for Bayh-Dole, which includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for their efforts to reactivate march-in rights as an important check on companies charging Americans inflated prices for drugs developed with taxpayer-funded research. In the comment, the FTC expressed support for an expansive and flexible approach to march-in rights, including providing that agencies can march in on the basis of high prices.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/02/ftc-submits-comment-march-rights-promote-efforts-lower-drug-prices
[Date Accessed: 3/5/2024]
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