> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fdaweb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# FDA, USPTO Outline Steps to Lower Drug Prices, Aid Competition
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/fda-uspto-outline-steps-to-lower-drug-prices-aid-competition/
- Published: 2022-07-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:51:41.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5152267

In a joint blog post, FDA commissioner **Robert Califf** and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) director **Kathi Vidal** discuss initiatives their two agencies are undertaking to execute the Biden administration’s agenda to lower drug prices and promote competition. “These initiatives will strengthen our relationship and expand the resources available for assessing patentability and addressing instances of patents being used improperly to delay competition,” Califf and Vidal [write](https://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/entry/the-biden-administration-is-acting?ref=fdaweb.com).

The post says that through the initiatives, the USPTO will protect against the patenting of incremental, obvious changes to existing drugs that do not qualify for patents. “This effort can lead to lower drug prices,” it says, “because drug companies will not be able to unjustifiably delay generic competition based on trivial changes to a drug product.”

The USPTO says it will work to ensure that patent examiners have the time and resources they need to conduct a thorough review of patent applications for pharmaceutical inventions. FDA will assist the USPTO in training patent examiners on the state of the art in pharmaceutical and biologic fields. The USPTO will provide new tools for patent examiners to search enormous and growing global databases of technical information, including publicly available sources maintained by FDA, to determine whether similar innovations already exist.

“Our intent is to ensure our government’s innovation system strikes the appropriate balance, encouraging meaningful innovation in drug development while not unduly delaying competition that provides relief from the high cost of medicines,” Califf and Vidal write.