Brough, 5-23-24
[Wayne Brough is a resident senior fellow on R Street’s Technology and Innovation team, 5-23-24, R Street, “Bad Patents Keep Drug Prices High,” https://www.rstreet.org/commentary/bad-patents-keep-drug-prices-high/, accessed 7-10-24] nikoglenn
Skyrocketing prescription drug prices remain a pressing political issue. Polls show that a large majority of voters in both parties support efforts to reduce drug prices, and President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign highlights his administration’s efforts to do so under the Inflation Reduction Act.
A major factor driving higher drug costs is the patent system, which grants pharmaceutical manufacturers a 20-year exclusive right to “make, use, sell, and import” their products. Although the government originally established the patent system to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts,” many patents are now deployed to protect and extend monopoly power. In the case of pharmaceuticals, complex patent strategies are regularly implemented to keep competitors and low-cost generics out of the market for as long as possible to maximize the profits of blockbuster drugs. Given this ongoing misuse of the patent system, any proposed changes to patent policy must be evaluated carefully to ensure that they deter, rather than reinforce, such practices.