- Citing the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK) report, Reuters said several manufacturers of top-selling drugs in the US have no competition and a another estimated $167 billion before the competition arrives.
- “Prescription drug spending in the United States, which exceeds $400 billion today, is projected to reach nearly $1 trillion by 2030,” I-MAK said in its report.
- “Patent abuse is not limited to a few bad actors. A growing body of evidence shows that a key part of the pharmaceutical industry’s business model for high-volume drugs now relies on maintaining market control by exploiting an outdated patent system,” the group said.
- I-MAK said generic copycats Bristol Myers Squibb Co BMY / Pfizer Inc PFE Blood clot treatment Eliquis and AbbVie Inc ABBV Humira and Amgen Inc AMGN Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis has been available in Europe for an average of 7.7 years ahead of its expected US launch.
- “Pharmaceutical companies secure hundreds of patents to block competition because they can,” the report concluded.
- Manufacturers of the top 10 best-selling drugs in the US filed an average of 140 patent applications per drug, 66% of which occurred after FDA approval, I-MAK said. An average of 74 patents were granted for each drug in Europe.
- Photo by Arek Socha from Pixabay
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