Bloomberg Seeks to Limit Drug Patent Protection to Reduce Costs

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential Michael Bloomberg would seek to reduce the cost of prescription drugs with a plan that includes limiting new brand-name drugs to a single patent to get lower-priced generics to the market faster.

There have been unsuccessful efforts to limit so-called “evergreening,” or obtaining multiple patents to extend exclusivity in the past. But the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said he would work with Congress to ensure only qualifying products get 20-year patent protection to stop manufacturers from slowing the introduction of generics. 

Bloomberg is also proposing capping out-of-pocket drug spending for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 a year in addition to steps other Democratic presidential candidates have proposed, including authorizing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and allowing Americans to buy medicine from other countries with adequate quality control.

Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Magan Sherzai

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.