Senate Judiciary Committee advances package of bills to curb drug-pricing tactics

The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out a package of measures intended to reduce prescription drug prices and speed generic and biosimilar entry, voting the bills out of committee for floor consideration.

Committee members said the package addresses several practices they say slow or block competition — including pay-for-delay agreements, product hopping, dense patenting strategies and frivolous or last‑minute petitions to federal agencies. The legislation also directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and creates a task force to improve information sharing between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Food and Drug Administration.

Why it matters: Committee proponents said the bills are meant to make it easier for lower‑cost generics and biosimilars to reach patients, reduce abusive patent tactics that extend exclusivity, and increase transparency around PBMs and other intermediaries that affect drug prices.

What the committee did and key provisions

- S.527, the "Prescription Pricing for People Act of 2025": Requires the FTC to examine the roles of PBMs and other intermediaries in the prescription drug supply chain and recommend steps to…