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United States · Bill · HR

H.R. 3991 (116th)

Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Through Improvements to Patent Litigation Act of 2019

reportedUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

25 July 2019

Last action

21 November 2019 · Committee

Status

Ordered to be Reported (Amended).

Sponsors

Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4], Rep. Roby, Martha [R-AL-2]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

7 April 2025

Summary

Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Through Improvements to Patent Litigation Act of 2019 This bill limits in certain instances the number of patents that the manufacturer of a biologic drug can assert in a lawsuit against a company seeking to sell a biosimilar version of that drug. (A biologic drug is produced through natural processes or isolated from natural sources. A biosimilar version is substantially similar to the original biologic, which is the reference product, and is often marketed as a less expensive alternative.) The bill's provisions apply to an existing framework that gives the biosimilar manufacturer an abbreviated path to Food and Drug Administration approval to sell the biosimilar. Specifically, if the biosimilar manufacturer completes certain actions under the framework, such as sharing certain information about its product with the reference product manufacturer, the bill limits the number of certain patents that the reference product manufacturer may assert in a lawsuit, such as patents that were filed more than four years after the reference product received market approval. The limit shall not apply to patents claiming certain methods for using the biologic drug. The court in which the infringement lawsuit is filed may increase the limit if justice so requires or if there is good cause for the increase.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 25 July 2019

    Introduced

    Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 25 July 2019

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 25 July 2019

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

  4. 28 August 2019

    Referred

    Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.

    Source: Committee

  5. 19 November 2019

    Committee

    Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Discharged.

    Source: Committee

  6. 21 November 2019

    Reported

    Ordered to be Reported (Amended).

    Source: Committee

  7. 21 November 2019

    Committee

    Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

    Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in House (text)

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  • Introduced in House (text)

    Introduced in House · EN · 25 July 2019

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Introduced in House (PDF)

    Introduced in House · EN · 25 July 2019

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

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  • Introduced in House

    summary · EN · 25 July 2019

    Open at official source

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Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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