Drug Competition Enhancement Act

This bill targets a practice called "product hopping," where a drug company, right before its patent expires and cheaper generic versions could enter the market, switches to a slightly modified version of the same drug that has a new, longer-lasting patent. Under this bill, if a drug company pulls its original drug from the market after learning that a generic competitor has applied for approval, it would be presumed to be product hopping, though the company could defend itself by showing it wasn't trying to block competition. The bill gives the Federal Trade Commission the power to take drug companies to court or start official proceedings to stop this behavior, and it allows the FTC to seek remedies such as forcing companies to give back unfair profits or pay back people who were harmed.

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