Drugmakers Rebuff FTC on “Junk Patent” Crackdown

The ongoing effort by the FTC to remove what it labels improper and inaccurate — or “junk” — listings of drug patents in the FDA’s Orange Book continues, with all cited drugmakers refusing to delist the 300 patents called out by the commission on April 30.

Among the 300 improper patents which the FTC requested be removed from the Orange Book — technically the FDA’s “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations” — are Ozempic, Novo Nordisk’s highly popular weight loss product along with drugs from pharma behemoths GSK and AstraZeneca.

Most top-selling medications are protected by dozens of patents covering various ingredients, manufacturing processes, and intellectual property. In recent years, drug companies have taken to improperly filing patents in the Orange Book then simultaneously filing patent-infringement lawsuits against encroaching competitors.

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