# 119-s-1818: Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2025

119-s-1818, Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1818
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1818
- Congress: 119
- Title: Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-05-20
- Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Voids government-granted exclusivities and creates open non-exclusive licenses to push down high drug prices.** The bill would direct the Secretary to review brand-name drugs at least annually using an international reference-price test across five countries and a factors-based test to flag excessive prices. If a drug is found excessive the bill would void exclusivities and require open licenses that let others make, sell, or import the drug under a reasonable royalty. - Families and patients: Licensed versions must be sold below the excessive price, which could expand access and lower costs for people who need these drugs. - Brand-name manufacturers: Could lose monopolies and face royalty limits based on IRS-derived averages or Secretary determinations. Courts could also require repayment of revenue from price increases after an excessive-price finding. - Generic and biosimilar developers: Would get an expedited eight-month review for applications that reference a newly licensed drug and public access to pricing, petition, and licensing details via a required database.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-06-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- End exclusivity and open drug licenses: benefit, high. If enacted, HHS would void government-granted exclusivities for any brand drug it finds excessively priced on the determination date. HHS would grant open, non-exclusive licenses so any person could make, import, or sell the drug and rely on its regulatory data. If a maker raises prices after the e…
- Annual drug price reviews and reporting: benefit, medium. If enacted, HHS would set up a review process within 30 days and review every brand-name drug at least once a year. HHS would use an international price test comparing U.S. prices to Canada, the UK, Germany, France, and Japan when prices exist in at least three of those countries. Drugs not covered…
- Manufacturer reporting and late penalties: cost, medium. If enacted, manufacturers would file an annual report by January 15 with detailed per-drug data on U.S. and reference-country prices, sales, R&D, marketing, trial investments, and affected patient population. Late or false reports would trigger civil penalties. Penalties would equal between 0.5% an…
- Royalties and fast FDA reviews: mixed, medium. If enacted, companies that accept an open license would have to pay a royalty to the prior patent or approval holders. The royalty would be either no higher than an industry-average rate from IRS data or an amount HHS sets after weighing factors like patient value and federal subsidies. Royalties m…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-1818 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1818)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1818 (as of 2026-04-21).