Biden Administration Says It Can Seize Patents of Costly Drugs

President Joe Biden’s administration says it has the authority to seize certain drug patents and license them to other manufacturers in order to lower prices — a move aimed to appeal to Americans grappling with high health-care costs.

The administration on Thursday unveiled a new framework for US agencies to use so-called march-in rights. This would allow authorities to take over the patent of some drugs that were developed with the help of taxpayer dollars and then license the invention to another entity. This step would be taken if the drug prices are deemed to be too high.

Senior ...