BIG PHARMA WATCH: MERCK TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARD FURTHER EXTENDING PATENT EXCLUSIVITY ON BLOCKBUSTER CANCER DRUG KEYTRUDA

Big Pharma Giant Proceeds With Strategy to Block Competition, Add More Patents to Brand Name Drug With 129 Patent Applications Already

According to reports, Merck recently took another big step forward in the Big Pharma giant’s plan to further extend patent exclusivity and monopoly pricing on its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda. Merck achieved a successful outcome in a clinical trial on its latest reformulation of the drug as part of a longstanding strategy to block competition and add to an existing thicket of more than 129 patents.

Merck first announced it would seek the new formulation, and accompanying new patents, for Keytruda in December 2022. According to reporting from Reuters, Merck sought “to patent a new formulation of its $20 billion cancer immunotherapy Keytruda that can be injected under the skin, allowing it to protect its best-selling drug from competition expected as soon as 2028.”

Keytruda brought in $21.6 billion in revenue for the Big Pharma giant in the first three quarters of 2024, making Keytruda Merck’s largest product by revenue as well as the top-selling cancer medication in the world.

As STAT News reporter Matthew Herper noted, “there is a long history of companies developing newer versions of medicines for which patents are soon to expire in order to try to hold on to some revenues when that medicine goes generic.”

Big Pharma’s patent abuse extends monopolies on their blockbuster drugs while blocking competition that would allow for more affordable alternatives for patients. These anti-competitive practices are a root cause of high drug prices in the U.S. and Congress should hold Big Pharma accountable by passing bipartisan, market-based solutions like Cornyn-Blumenthal now.

Merck’s History of Patent Abuse on Keytruda

According to research from I-MAK, Merck has filed for 129 patent applications on Keytruda – more than half of which were filed after the drug’s initial approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Big Pharma company has been granted 53 patents for this one drug.

I-MAK estimates that Americans will spend at least $137 billion on Keytruda while the drug faces no competition due to its extended exclusivity that already totals more than eight years — without reflecting the added impact of the Big Pharma giant’s new patent strategy.

Merck’s Keytruda announcement is just the latest example of how Big Pharma companies are gaming the patent system to extend their monopolies, ensure prices remain high while boosting profits — at tremendous cost to patients and the U.S. health care system.

Read more on Merck’s recent study which will enable the company to extend its patent exclusivity on Keytruda HERE.

Read more on Merck’s plans to file new patents on Keytruda HERE.

Read about how Big Pharma companies target cancer medications for higher prices and blockbuster profits HERE.

Learn more about bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.

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