Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate have introduced companion bills (H.R. 4287; S. 2150) that would allow the owner, or its agent, of a “patent claiming a method of using a biological product” to apply for a five-year extension from the patent’s original expiration date. The stated purpose of the proposals is “[t]o advance the public health by encouraging independent innovators to pursue drug repurposing research and develop new treatments and cures by providing appropriate intellectual property protections for those innovations.” The House bill, introduced on March 24, 2014, by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the senate measure on the same date; it was referred to the senate Committee on the Judiciary.