Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge, Link (CC-BY)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This report analyzes the twelve best selling drugs in the United States and reveals that drugmakers file hundreds of patent applications – the vast majority of which are granted – to extend their monopolies far beyond the twenty years of protection intended under U.S. patent law.
These patents are used by drugmakers for the purpose of forestalling generic competition while continuing to increase the price of these drugs. This report found that, on average, across the top twelve grossing drugs in America:
- There are 125 patent applications filed and 71 granted patents per drug.
- Prices have increased by 68% since 2012, and only one of the top twelve drugs has actually decreased in price.
- There are 38 years of attempted patent protection blocking generic competition sought by drugmakers for each of these top grossing drugs – or nearly double the twenty year monopoly intended under U.S. patent law.
- These top grossing drugs have already been on the U.S. market for 15 years.
- Over half of the top twelve drugs in America have more than 100 attempted patents per drug.
Findings for specific drugs revealed strikingly similar efforts by different drugmakers to abuse the patent system and leverage these patent monopolies to raise drug prices and prevent generic competition:
- AbbVie, which markets the world’s number one selling drug, Humira ($18bn in global sales in 2017), is also the worst patent offender with 247 patent applications.
- One third of the drugs had price hikes of more than 100% since just 2012: Lyrica (163%), Enbrel (155%), Humira (144%), and Lantus (114%).
- Herceptin, a cancer drug sold by Roche / Genentech, had patents first filed in 1985 and has current patent applications pending that could extend patent exclusivity until 2033, a 48-year potential monopoly span.
- Four of the top twelve drugs have already been on the market for 20 years and have pending patent applications seeking to extend patent life to 2033 (Herceptin, Genentech), 2030 (Rituxan, Biogen/Genentech), 2029 (Enbrel, Amgen), and 2025 (Remicade, Janssen).
Until and unless the U.S. government directly curbs this abuse of the patent system, drugmakers will continue the harmful practice of coupling over-patenting with annual price increases that undermine the U.S. healthcare system and the financial solvency of American families across the country.
