The Biden Administration this summer issued an executive order that seems to endorse the use of “march-in” – when the government seizes patent rights from an innovator to let competitors use that patented invention – in an effort to address medicine affordability. This policy could have a grave impact on the pipeline of new treatments and cures, while ignoring the reality that today more than 90% of prescriptions for drugs are filled with generics – up from 19% 35 years ago thanks to our competitive system that includes intellectual property (IP) protections, including patents.
