What’s the primary purpose of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act?

The primary purpose of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, also known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, is to balance the need for pharmaceutical innovation with the goal of providing patients access to affordable medications. This act allows for the extension of patent protection for specific drugs while also facilitating the introduction of generic alternatives into the market.

By extending patent protection, the act provides pharmaceutical companies with a longer period to recoup their investments in drug development, which can be highly expensive and time-consuming. This extension is crucial for incentivizing research and development in the pharmaceutical industry, ensuring that companies are motivated to create new and innovative treatments.

Moreover, the act also includes provisions for abbreviated New Drug Applications (NDAs) for generics, allowing these alternatives to come to market more quickly once the original patent expires. While the act does promote affordability by streamlining the entry of generics, its fundamental goal is to ensure that there is adequate patent protection in place to encourage ongoing innovation in drug development.