The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice. Washington is warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions.

The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice, warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions.

Under a plan announced Thursday, the government would consider overriding the patent for high-priced drugs that have been developed with the help of taxpayer money and letting competitors make them in hopes of driving down the cost.

In a 15-second video released to YouTube on Wednesday night, President Joe Biden promised the move would lower prices.

“Today, we’re taking a very important step toward ending price gouging so you don’t have to pay more for the medicine you need,” he said.

    • Ranvier@sopuli.xyz
      25·
      7 months ago

      That’s what they’re doing! They are announcing a new executive department regulation about implementation of a specific law. You have to propose the regulation first. A public comment period and other mandatory things have to follow. The regulation they’re proposing is that they will also consider high drug prices and gouging by pharmaceuticals in their decision making on whether to over ride patent rights. Previously this was not a regulation, so they can not do it right now. Once the regulation is in place, then they can start taking specific actions on drug companies. If they just start doing shit willy nilly without going through the process of new regulations, it’ll just get struck down by the courts in a nanosecond. That’s why a lot of the dumb horrible crap trump tried to do got struck down well before Biden even took office.

    • gregorum@lemm.eeEnglish
      1242·
      7 months ago

      why actually do something when you can score huge amounts of political points by merely threatening to do something?

    • jackoneill@lemmy.world
      660·
      7 months ago

      It’s Biden, he won’t actually DO anything, just talk about it and not actually do it

      • forrgott@lemm.ee
        295·
        7 months ago

        Just like he talked about student loan forgiveness, and didn’t do anything… Oh wait…

        • TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zipEnglish
          44·
          7 months ago

          To be fair pretty much all he’s been able to do is actually allow people who qualified for it under current law actually get said relief, or did I miss something actually going through bullshit repeals?

          To be fair just that is still a lot more than others have done, but that’s pretty sad that following the law is “doing a lot.”

          • Ranvier@sopuli.xyz
            91·
            7 months ago

            SCOTUS prevented it not Biden. And after the case Biden immediately started on trying to get other new forgiveness through with his jurisdiction under different laws to circumvent their dubious ruling to some extent. It can’t be exactly the same or scotus would strike it down again. Because that’s now another new regulation there are some mandatory processes it has to go through before it can implemented, which takes some time. If they skip all that they’re just giving the courts easy ammo to strike it down all over again on procedural grounds.

            The draft of the new proposal has been released. Feel free to read more here.

            https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/05/biden-administration-releases-draft-student-debt-forgiveness-proposal.html

            If we want the original proposal of Biden’s back, we either need a new scotus or a new law. A new law would be easier, but impossible atm with republicans in control of the house. And Biden isn’t congress so yes everything he’s doing has to be some new implementation of existing law.

      • be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social
        212·
        7 months ago

        It’s Biden, he won’t actually DO anything, just talk about it and not actually do it

        I’m not a Biden cheerleader aside from thinking he is 1000x better than Trump, but this meme is getting tired.