The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act (S. 1041), aiming to limit how many patents a biologics sponsor can assert against a biosimilar during the “patent dance” process under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act. The bill would cap the asserted patents at no more than 20. Sponsors described the cap as a “reasonable” limit designed to reduce litigation-driven delays for biosimilar competition. The bill now moves to the House after its July 21 vote. If enacted, the measure could affect time-to-market for biosimilars and reshape the filing and settlement strategies of originator biologics, particularly where multiple patents complicate approval pathways.