On Friday, April 1, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to once again voice his concerns about several sources advancing data on the effects of pharmaceutical patents on drug pricing. Tillis is specifically troubled that the data seems to be based on opaque methodologies and to contain inaccurate or incomplete information that may mislead policymakers. In a previous letter to these organizations, he requested the agencies conduct an independent assessment of the accuracy and reliability of those sources. In the present letter, Tillis again highlights his concern about work from the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK). He had previously written to Tahir Amin, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of I-MAK, requesting that I-MAK provide a detailed explanation of its methods to allow others to check the accuracy of I-MAK’s patent data and to assess the credibility of its other assertions.

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