S. 1041 · 119th Congress

Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act

Introduced on Mar 13, 2025 by John Cornyn (R-TX). 3 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Latest action (Jul 21, 2026): Held at the desk.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Mar 13, 2025
Cosponsors
3
2 from the other party
Policy area
Commerce
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

A bill to amend title 35, United States Code, to address the infringement of patents that claim biological products, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Civil actions and liability
  • Competition and antitrust
  • Consumer affairs
  • Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
  • Health care costs and insurance
  • Inflation and prices
  • Intellectual property
  • Judicial review and appeals
  • Manufacturing
  • Prescription drugs

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in Senate, Mar 13, 2025). Public domain.

Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act

This bill limits in certain instances the number of patents that the manufacturer of a biologic drug can assert in a lawsuit against a company seeking to sell a biosimilar version of that drug. (A biologic drug is produced through natural processes or isolated from natural sources. A biosimilar version is substantially similar to the original biologic, which is the reference product, and is often marketed as a less expensive alternative.)

The bill's provisions apply to an existing framework that gives the biosimilar manufacturer an abbreviated path to Food and Drug Administration approval to sell the biosimilar. Specifically, if the biosimilar manufacturer completes certain actions under the framework, such as sharing certain information about its product with the reference product manufacturer, the bill limits the number of certain patents that the reference product manufacturer may assert in a lawsuit, such as patents that were filed more than four years after the reference product received market approval. The limit shall not apply to patents claiming certain methods for using the biologic drug.

The court in which the infringement lawsuit is filed may increase the limit if justice so requires or if there is good cause for the increase.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

John CornynR-TXSponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 13, 2025Introduced in Senate
  2. Mar 13, 2025 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  3. Apr 3, 2025 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
  4. Apr 10, 2025Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with amendments. Without written report.
  5. Apr 10, 2025 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with amendments. Without written report.
  6. Apr 10, 2025 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 44.
  7. Jul 21, 2026Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent.
  8. Jul 21, 2026 · SenatePassed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S4198-4199; text: CR S4199)
  9. Jul 21, 2026 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  10. Jul 21, 2026 · HouseReceived in the House.
  11. Jul 21, 2026 · HouseHeld at the desk.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH & MANUFACTURERS OF AMERICA24 reports
    $57.5M reported (all issues)
  2. ASSOCIATION FOR ACCESSIBLE MEDICINES14 reports
    $4.8M reported (all issues)
  3. COUNCIL FOR INNOVATION PROMOTION (C4IP)11 reports
    $500K reported (all issues)
  4. PFIZER INC.9 reports
    Federal contractor: PFIZER INCAI match · 100%
  5. AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS, INC. (AHIP)6 reports
    $25.6M reported (all issues)
  6. AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW ASSOCIATION (AIPLA)6 reports
    $60K reported (all issues)
  7. AMGEN INC.6 reports
    $18.3M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMGEN INC.AI match · 99%
  8. Amgen USA, Inc.6 reports
    $360K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMGEN USA INC$126M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  9. BCBSM, Inc.6 reports
    $176K reported (all issues)
  10. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association6 reports
    $7.5M reported (all issues)
  11. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc.6 reports
    $710K reported (all issues)
  12. Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing (CSRxP)6 reports
    $300K reported (all issues)
  13. GSK (fka GLAXOSMITHKLINE INC.)6 reports
    $7.4M reported (all issues)
  14. GUIDEWELL MUTUAL HOLDING CORPORATION6 reports
    $40K reported (all issues)
  15. JOHNSON & JOHNSON SERVICES, INC.6 reports
    $13.3M reported (all issues)
  16. NOVARTIS CORPORATION6 reports
    $13.1M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION$36.2M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  17. Sanofi U.S. Services, Inc.6 reports
    $360K reported (all issues)
  18. The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing6 reports
    $540K reported (all issues)
  19. BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF KANSAS, INC.5 reports
    $50K reported (all issues)
  20. BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF MICHIGAN5 reports
    $1.4M reported (all issues)
  21. ELI LILLY AND COMPANY5 reports
    Federal contractor: ELI LILLY AND COMPANY$286.4K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  22. PHARMACEUTICAL CARE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION5 reports
    $16.8M reported (all issues)
  23. Viatris (Mylan, Inc)5 reports
    $300K reported (all issues)
  24. Association of Accessible Medicines (formerly known as GPhA)4 reports
    $240K reported (all issues)
  25. BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ORGANIZATION4 reports
    $6.8M reported (all issues)
  26. Families USA Foundation, Inc.4 reports
    $38K reported (all issues)
  27. GENENTECH INC.4 reports
    Federal contractor: GENENTECH USA, INC$939.6K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  28. T1INTERNATIONAL USA4 reports
  29. AARP3 reports
    $15.6M reported (all issues)
  30. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION3 reports
    $140K reported (all issues)
  31. KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN INC.3 reports
    $1.6M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN OF WASHINGTONAI match · 97%
  32. The Cigna Group and subsidiaries (Formerly Cigna Corporation3 reports
    $6.8M reported (all issues)
  33. SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)2 reports
    $105K reported (all issues)
  34. Blood Cancer United (FKA The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)1 report
    $590K reported (all issues)
  35. Fresenius Kabi USA LLC1 report
    $340K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: FRESENIUS KABI USA, LLCAI match · 100%
  36. VIZIENT, INC.1 report
    $360K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: VIZIENT INC$18.2K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 98%

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.