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HR 1708 107th Congress House

Affordable Prescription Drugs and Medical Inventions Act

Official title: To amend title 35, United States Code, to provide for compulsory licensing of certain patented inventions relating to health.

Introduced: May 3, 2001 See on congress.gov
Commerce Administrative remediesAuditingCivil actions and liabilityCollection of accounts
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CommercializationCompensation (Law)CongressCongressional reporting requirementsDepartment of Health and Human ServicesDrug industryDrugsEconomics and Public FinanceFederal Trade CommissionFederal aid to medical researchFinance and Financial SectorFines (Penalties)Government Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkHealthIndependent regulatory commissionsIntellectual propertyInventionsJudicial review of administrative actsLawMedical researchMedical suppliesMedical technologyPatent licensesPatentsPharmaceutical researchPrescription pricingPricesProduct developmentPublic healthResearch and developmentRestrictive trade practicesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareTechnological innovations
This bill died when the 107th Congress ended
It never became law before the 107th Congress (2001–2002) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 15, 2001
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
May 9, 2001
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
May 3, 2001
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
May 3, 2001
Introduced in House
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 Latest action May 15, 2001

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service
Affordable Prescription Drugs and Medical Inventions Act - Amends Federal patent law to grant the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission the right to establish compulsory licensing (without authorization of the right holder) for use of patented inventions relating to health care upon a determination that: (1) the patent holder, contractor, licensee, or assignee has not taken, or is not expected to take within a reasonable time, effective steps to achieve practical application of the subject invention in a field of use; (2) establishing other use of the subject matter of the patent is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs which are not adequately satisfied by the patent holder, contractor, licensee, or assignee; (3) the patent holder has engaged in specified anticompetitive behavior, including excessive pricing; (4) an invention covered by a patent cannot be exploited without infringing upon the first patent, insofar as the invention claimed in the second patent involves an important technical advance; or (5) the invention claimed in the patent is needed for research purposes that would benefit the public health, and is not licensed on reasonable terms and conditions.

Requires any person engaged in the manufacture and sale of any new drug or new animal drug approved under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and for which a patent is still in effect, to report annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services an audit of all financial information relevant to that drug's pricing nationally and internationally, including research and development costs. Establishes civil penalties for noncompliance.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1708: Affordable Prescription Drugs and Medical Inventions Act. 107th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-1708/
MLA
"H.R. 1708: Affordable Prescription Drugs and Medical Inventions Act." 107th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-1708/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1708, 107th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-1708/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1708: Affordable Prescription Drugs and Medical Inventions Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-1708/)
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