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# Coordinate on Drug Patent Oversight: Senators
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/coordinate-on-drug-patent-oversight-senators/
- Published: 2022-06-01T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:47:02.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5151944

Sens. **Bill Cassidy** (R-LA) and **Maggie Hassan** (D-NH) say FDA and the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should close oversight gaps that they say delay generic drugs from coming to market and thus keep drug costs high. In a [statement](https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-hassan-lead-push-to-lower-prescription-drug-costs-by-cracking-down-on-lack-of-patent-oversight?ref=fdaweb.com), the senators say a lack of coordination between the two agencies “has allowed the pharmaceutical industry to obtain patents of questionable validity. Through these patents, drug manufacturers are able to delay the entry of generic drugs and extend monopoly prices. We request information on the extent to which the PTO seeks, obtains, and considers FDA information when reviewing pharmaceutical-related patent applications.”

A letter to the two agencies quoted in the statement says that under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA is authorized to share information with the PTO. “However, the lines of communication between the agencies appear not to be working,” the senators write. “With better inter-agency coordination, many of these patent applications would have likely been denied.”