S. 1818 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, May 20, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryAllows government to block overpriced drug exclusivity
This bill asks the federal government to watch drug prices. Every year, the Department of Health and Human Services would check if brand-name drugs cost too much. If a drug's price seems excessive—compared to what it costs in Canada, the UK, Germany, France, and Japan—the government could remove the company's exclusive right to sell it and let other companies make cheaper versions.
How it affects you
If you take brand-name prescription drugs, this could eventually mean lower-cost generic versions become available sooner if your drug is deemed overpriced. Drug manufacturers would need to share more financial details about their products. Most people would only see direct effects if a medication they take is flagged as priced too high and generic alternatives are then allowed to enter the market.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, May 20, 2025)
Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2025
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review brand-name drugs annually for excessive pricing and, if a drug is found to be priced excessively, to void any exclusivity granted to its sponsor.
Specifically, HHS must review all brand-name drug prices at least annually and upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.
An entity accepting an open, nonexclusive license under these provisions must pay a reasonable royalty to the holder of the relevant patent or approved new drug application, and must price the generic drug or biosimilar below the excessive rate.
Under the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of these countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including development cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.
The bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1818
A BILL
Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) · Introduced May 20, 2025 · Health · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action May 20, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.”
Sections
Sections · 8
- Sec. 1Short titleNo change
- Sec. 2Identification of excessively priced drugsNo change
- Sec. 3Ending government-granted monopolies for excessively priced drugsNo change
- Sec. 4Excessive drug price licenseNo change
- Sec. 5Public excessive drug price databaseNo change
- Sec. 6Drug manufacturer reportingNo change
- Sec. 7Prohibition of anticompetitive behaviorNo change
- Sec. 8DefinitionsNo change