The new follow-on-biologics law: a section by section analysis of the patent litigation provisions in the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009.

An abbreviated pathway for the approval of biosimilar biological products, often called "follow-on biologics," has been enacted into law as part of the health care legislation recently passed by Congress and signed by the President. The subtitle of the health care bill establishing this approval pathway, the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, includes many provisions governing the identification of patents relevant to a given biosimilar biological product and the assertion of those patents in infringement suits. This article provides a section-by-section analysis of the patent-related provisions of the new approval pathway for biosimilar biological products, and points out several ways in which the new law differs fundamentally from the Hatch-Waxman Act, which provides the approval pathway for generic versions of small molecule drugs.