© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Signage outside the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Tuesday it sent notification letters to Abbvie, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ , Teva and other drugmakers and medical device companies questioning the accuracy or relevance of more of 100 patents listed in the US Food and Drug Administration’s Orange Book.
Many of the patents in question were for devices such as asthma inhalers and epinephrine auto-injectors, the FTC said.
“Patents incorrectly included in the Orange Book by pharmaceutical companies can raise drug prices for Americans, harm fair competition, and delay better medicines,” FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in X, formerly known like Twitter.
“Millions of Americans rely on inhalers to control their asthma. And although some of the most popular inhalers have been on the market for decades, they can still cost patients hundreds of dollars a month,” he said.
The Orange Book identifies drugs and products that the FDA considers safe and effective. The FTC says companies sometimes improperly include patents in the Orange Book, which can delay competition from cheaper generics.
The FTC had said in September that drugmakers could face legal action if they improperly listed their patents with federal health regulators and said it would review any improper listing.
