The Real Cost of Weakening Drug Patents

"The current patent system incentivizes companies to offer patients and their doctors more options. It's tough to see why that's a bad thing. When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new, easier-to-administer version of a popular cancer medicine called Keytruda a few months ago, patients celebrated. But critics quickly cried foul, accusing the drug's manufacturer of gaming the patent system to preserve its monopoly and prevent cheaper competitors from coming to market."

"Those critics are misinformed. Patents on the new injectable version of that drug won't prevent rival companies from creating cheap copycats of the original IV version once the patents on that formulation expire. And the critics aren't just wrong about this particular incident. They keep pushing a narrative that the pharmaceutical industry, writ large, is abusing the patent system. They've even convinced Congress to pursue major changes to the patent system."

"That would be a mistake. Patent protections are critical for incentivizing not just the expensive research that leads to new medicines, but the extensive research that leads to other versions of those therapies. Upending them would only deter companies from creating updated versions of medicines that improve patients' lives."

"Critics commonly repeat a claim that drug manufacturers use "patent thickets"- many patents on the same product- to block other companies from launching copycats. But it's entirely normal to file multiple patents on a single product. Apple, for instance, filed for roughly 200 patents on the first iPhone. Medicines are extraordinarily complex, often combining multiple discoveries, mechanisms, and inventions. Each of those innovations can- and should- be patented."

A new, easier-to-administer cancer medicine received FDA approval, and critics alleged the manufacturer used patents to preserve a monopoly and block cheaper competitors. The claim is rejected because patents on the new injectable formulation would not prevent rivals from making cheaper copies of the original intravenous version after its formulation patents expire. Broader accusations that pharmaceutical companies abuse patents are also challenged, including proposed major changes to the patent system. Patent protections are described as critical incentives for both expensive research that produces new medicines and extensive research that produces improved versions. Multiple patents on a single product are presented as normal due to the complexity of medicines and the need to protect multiple innovations, and patents are said not to unfairly delay generic or biosimilar launches.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law