Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) accused a new US Chamber of Commerce coalition of attempting to “stymie the White House’s drug pricing initiatives.”
The Business Alliance to Stop Innovation Confiscation (BASIC) Coalition launched in March to “counter emerging policy threats to U.S. innovation from excessive government overreach.” One of its targets is a White House proposal around the use of “march-in rights” on high-priced drugs.
The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allows the government to, in limited circumstances, require new licenses for certain patents based on federally-funded research. As part of its proposed framework released in December, the Biden administration suggested that price should be an explicit factor in determining whether to exercise march-in authority.
BASIC has argued that the administration’s efforts “exploit the landmark and bipartisan Bayh-Dole Act as a backdoor method to impose price controls by using ‘march-in’ rights to seize business patents.”
Warren, Sanders and Merkley questioned the coalition’s motives in a letter to Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark on Wednesday. The senators asked Clark to detail how the chamber decided to create the BASIC Coalition and what kind of action it intends to take.
“The American public — and your own members — deserve an explanation for why you are fighting policies to reduce drug costs,” the senators wrote.
Paul Michel, a former federal Fifth Circuit judge and honorary co-chair of the BASIC Coalition, told Endpoints News on Friday that the proposed march-in framework is the coalition’s primary focus at the moment.
“I think it’s in the national interest to maintain a functioning system for innovation in America,” he said. “It’s clear to me that the proposed guidance that’s under discussion is contrary to the terms of the Bayh-Dole statute.”
The US Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.