S. 659

Biologic Patent Transparency Act

This bill requires the holder of a license to market a biologic drug to disclose all patents believed to be covering that drug. The bill also directs the Department of Health and Human Services  (HHS) to make such information publicly available. (Biologics are drugs produced through natural processes or isolated from natural sources.)

The holder of a market approval license for a biologic product shall submit a list to HHS of all patents that the holder reasonably believes would be infringed by an unauthorized person making, using, offering to sell, selling, or importing that product. The license holder shall update HHS as to any relevant patents granted after the initial submission and as to listed patents that were later invalidated or rendered unenforceable.

If a patent that should have been listed was not timely disclosed to HHS, the patent holder may not sue for infringement of that patent.

HHS shall publish an easily searchable list of all biologics that have received market approval or for which an application for approval has been filed. The list shall contain information including (1) the official and proprietary name of the product, (2) the patents the license holder has listed under this bill, (3) whether various market exclusivity periods apply to the product, and (4) information about whether the product is interchangeable with another biologic product.