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# Senator Targets Firms Over Improper Patents
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/senator-targets-firms-over-improper-patents/
- Published: 2024-01-29T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T14:21:29.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5156238

U.S. Senator **Tammy Baldwin** (D-WI) has written the four biggest drug companies marketing asthma inhalers and urged them to stop unfairly blocking generics from the market. In 1/29 letters (see below) to AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, and Teva, Baldwin called on the companies to stop improperly listing patents for inhalers in FDA’s *Orange Book* because it delays competition. “While drug companies are required to list certain patents in the *Orange Book*, bad actors can exploit this process to inappropriately deter competition and generic drug development, leading to fewer treatment options and higher prices for consumers,” she said in a [release](https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-baldwin-demands-big-pharma-stop-unfair-practices-that-reduce-competition-raise-prices-for-inhalers?ref=fdaweb.com).

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [issued](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-issues-policy-statement-brand-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-improper-listing-patents-food-drug?ref=fdaweb.com) a policy on removing inappropriate patent listings because they can be an unfair and unlawful method of competition. In November, FTC [challenged](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/11/ftc-challenges-more-100-patents-improperly-listed-fdas-orange-book?ref=fdaweb.com) ten pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, GSK, Teva, and Boehringer Ingelheim for improperly or inaccurately listing more than 100 patents in the *Orange Book*.

“Despite these warnings, the inhaler companies have not yet removed all of the inaccurate or inappropriately listed patents from the *Orange Book*,” Baldwin’s release says. “In the letters sent today, Senator Baldwin called on the companies to heed the FTC’s warning, and immediately remove these patents from the *Orange Book* to restore fair competition for Wisconsinites who rely on inhalers to stay well.”

The letters come on the heels of Baldwin [launching an investigation](https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-baldwin-colleagues-launch-investigation-into-pharmaceutical-companies-high-price-of-asthma-inhalers?ref=fdaweb.com) into the high prices the same companies charge for their inhalers.

Read letter to AstraZeneca [here](https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/download/baldwin-letter-to-astrazeneca?ref=fdaweb.com).

Read letter to Boehringer Ingelheim [here](https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/download/baldwin-letter-to-boehringer-ingelheim?ref=fdaweb.com).

Read letter to GSK [here](https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/download/baldwin-letter-to-gsk?ref=fdaweb.com).

Read letter to Teva [here](https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/download/baldwin-letter-to-teva?ref=fdaweb.com).