Altering the Bayh Dole Act and 28 U.S.C. § 1498 to Create Price Controls Would be a Travesty

Last week, a number of judges, former government officials, and scholars who are experts in patent law, healthcare policy, or both, wrote a letter to U.S. legislators in an effort to stop the government from imposing price controls on patented drugs. 

In this letter, great concern was expressed surrounding the plan to use the Bayh-Dole Act and 28 U.S.C. § 1498 to create and enforce new drug price controls. Many activists believe that current laws and legislation are “tools” at the disposal of the government that can be changed in order to put out price controls on patented drugs to lower drug prices. This is not the case. The Bayh-Dole Act and 28 U.S.C. §1498 do not allow government interference when it comes to prices.

Moreover, as TAPP has articulated many times, price controls would not achieve the alleged benefits and would, in fact, harm the U.S. economy as a whole, and patient accessibility would decrease. Drug research and innovation would stall because of a lack of funding. The United States would fall behind in terms of international medical competitiveness, and we could be surpassed by foreign adversaries like China and Russia. 

TAPP joins the letter's authors in calling on Congress to reconsider its plan to revise these laws. 

Read the letter here.