Posted by Michael Wonder on 08 Dec 2018
Patent abuse is driving up drug prices. Just look at Lantus.
7 December 2018 - A rare point of consensus following the midterm elections is that Americans are adamant about lowering drug prices.
Bipartisan pledges to seek common ground on this vexing issue suggest we might finally see action to make medicines more affordable.
What should this new common ground look like? Beyond important proposals like allowing drug importation or Medicare negotiation, policymakers should take a hard look at one of the key factors affecting market competition, transparency, and affordability: patents.
Patent abuse by drug makers is one of the most influential drivers of our pricing problem. U.S. law provides 20 years of patent exclusivity for inventions such as a new medicine — meaning two decades that a drug maker has monopoly power to develop a medicine and set prices however they wish. Even if it takes eight years to develop a medicine, that leaves 12 years for the drug to have market exclusivity.
