Lawmakers are urging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to use its authority to ensure lower priced drugs make it to market, but a drug company attorney said blaming the current patent system for high drug prices is misguided.

At issue is concern that drug companies can and do seek patents at multiple steps of the production process, including minor modification such as changing a capsule to a tablet. The patent protection received keeps competition at bay and lower priced drugs off the market, critics say.

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