The US Senate unanimously passed the Ensuring Innovation Act and the Advancing Education on Biosimilars Act.
The Ensuring Innovation Act aims to stop ‘evergreening’ by preventing pharmaceutical companies from claiming new innovations when they make insignificant modifications to their products. Under the current system, innovators are able to extend patent exclusivities by 5 years when one of these modifications is made.
The Advancing Education on Biosimilars Act aims to improve confidence in the safety and effectiveness of biosimilars by providing patients and providers with educational materials. These materials would include information about the standards for review and licensing of biosimilar products, relevant considerations for prescribers and the process of reporting adverse events for biological products. This material could be presented in webinars, videos, fact sheets and stakeholder toolkits.