Overview of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments: Legislative Background


 

Publication Date: April 2002

Publisher: Families USA

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Brief

Abstract:

This issue brief describes loopholes in the 1984 "Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act" (known as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments) that permit brand-name drug manufacturers to minimize competition by delaying the market entry of generic drugs