Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act (S. 2658)

Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act

This bill requires applicants seeking approval of a drug or licensure of a biological product to submit certain information about relevant patents to both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Specifically, the bill requires applicants to make certifications and disclosures related to each applicable patent on a proposed drug or biological product. An applicable patent is a patent or patent application held or sought by the applicant for the drug or biological product (including a formulation or composition, method of use, or method of manufacturing).

For each applicable patent, an applicant must submit to the USPTO any information material to patentability that the applicant submitted to the FDA and any information provided by the FDA in response. The applicant must certify that this submission is complete and consistent with the information the applicant provided to the FDA.

Further, for each applicable patent, an applicant must certify that certain information submitted to the FDA is consistent with information the applicant provided to the USPTO. This is specific to statements or characterizations that are material to patentability and related to (1) an applicable patent (including a statement or characterization of relevant publicly known information), or (2) analytical data included in a new drug or biological product application.

The bill establishes a defense to a patent infringement action if the owner of an applicable patent negligently or intentionally failed to make the disclosures required by these provisions.