Nonprofits Want U.S. to Allow Generics of Prostate Cancer Drug

The U.S. government should exercise its patent rights to allow generic versions of the prostate cancer drug Xtandi (enzalutamide), which costs $130,000 a year in the U.S., two nonprofits said in a Jan. 14 petition.

The petition from Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT) specifically asked the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense to use their royalty-free rights in the patents covering Xtandi or to exercise their “march-in” rights under the Bayh-Dole Act, 35 U.S.C. §203.

The petition said Astellas Pharma, ...