BIG PHARMA WATCH: PHARMA PATENTS INVALIDATED MORE THAN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY FOR MISREPRESENTED OR OMITTED INFORMATION

Analysis Finds Bogus and Faulty Patents Contribute to Rising Prescription Drug Launch Prices

According to coverage in STAT News, a recent analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved patents secured by Big Pharma are more frequently invalidated than any other industry sector due to drugmakers misrepresenting or omitting information during the patent application process.

The analysis found that pharmaceutical companies failed to provide accurate information to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on 34 patents previously approved by the FDA – resulting in a U.S. appeals court invalidating 15 patents relating to medicines and 10 to medical devices between 2004 and 2021.

When unchallenged or invalidated, these faulty patents contribute to increasing prescription drug costs by extending periods of exclusivity, which enables Big Pharma to engage in anti-competitive and monopoly pricing – as these products face no competition. As outlined in the analysis, these anti-competitive practices have contributed to Big Pharma increasing the median brand name drug launch price from $2,115 in 2008 to $180,007 in 2021.

The analysis follows increased scrutiny of pharmaceutical patents by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which recently challenged more than 100 patents on brand name drugs manufactured by Big Pharma giants including AbbVie, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.

Congress should pass bipartisan solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable for the industry’s egregious abuse of the patent system.

Read the full analysis in JAMA HERE.

Read coverage of the analysis in STAT News HERE.

Read more about how Big Pharma’s patent abuse is the root cause behind out-of-control prescription drug prices HERE.

Read more on bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.