Sen Amy Klobuchar (D, Minn) and Sen Chuck Grassley (R, Iowa) urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promptly release the agency鈥檚 2013 and 2014 reports about 鈥減ay-for-delay鈥� settlements. Under such agreements, brand-name drug companies pay generic drug manufacturers to delay marketing their lower-cost products.

鈥淧ay-for-delay agreements deny consumer access to more affordable alternatives to brand medications,鈥� Klobuchar and Grassley, lead sponsors of the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act, wrote in a letter dated October 29 to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

The act would ban brand-name drug makers from using pay-off agreements to keep cheaper generic competition off the market. On average, these agreements delay consumer access to generics by nearly a year and a half, according to the senators.