Marching Towards Disaster: Examining the Commerce Department’s Administration of the Bayh-Dole Act and Whether March-In Rights Should Be Used to Reduce Drug Costs

16 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2021

See all articles by Ramon J. Ryan

Ramon J. Ryan

Vanderbilt University Law School

Date Written: December 21, 2020

Abstract

This paper explores the history of the Bayh-Dole Act, its administration by the Department of Commerce, and the question that faces every new administration that has campaigned to lower the cost of prescription drugs: should Bayh-Dole's march-in rights be exercised to reduce the cost of drugs created with federal funding? This paper concludes that while the National Institute of Standards and Technology, within Commerce, has the authority to promulgate regulations requiring federal agencies to march in on companies to address the cost of federally funded technology, including prescription drugs, doing so would likely disrupt the success of the country’s technology transfer program and be less effective than stand-alone legislation that tackles the high cost of drugs.

Suggested Citation

Ryan, Ramon J., Marching Towards Disaster: Examining the Commerce Department’s Administration of the Bayh-Dole Act and Whether March-In Rights Should Be Used to Reduce Drug Costs (December 21, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3752916 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3752916

Ramon J. Ryan (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University Law School ( email )

Nashville, TN
United States
650-534-6149 (Phone)

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