Today, we published the latest report in our landmark Overpatented, Overpriced series, revealing how under the current patent system, pharmaceutical companies are able to extend their patent protection using a range of mechanisms and patenting tactics—including patent thicketing, Statutory Patent Term Adjustments (PTA), and Patent Term Extensions (PTE)—to maintain monopoly control over some of America’s most widely prescribed and expensive medications. Our new report exposes how these systemic flaws impact Eliquis, a top-selling blood thinner, and the semaglutide family of diabetes and weight-loss drugs including Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy.
Accompanying our report, we also conducted a new patent landscape analysis for several top-selling products not previously included in our database, The Drug Patent Book. We found dozens, and in some cases hundreds, of patents that extend patent protection around these products. We’ve added 10 new products to our database—Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Farxiga, Entresto, Jardiance, Januvia, and Xarelto—some of which will be included in the second cycle of Medicare drug price negotiations. We’ve also updated patent data on Eliquis, Enbrel, Imbruvica, and Stelara.
Our team is proud to continue expanding our Overpatented, Overpriced investigation series and our Drug Patent Book database, which have become cornerstone resources for policymakers, researchers, and advocates working to address America’s prescription drug pricing crisis.
Onwards,
Tahir
An Upcoming In-Person Forum
Join us on July 15 in Washington DC for The Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy’s upcoming forum, “A Path to Fair Drug Pricing: Examining Competition, Value, and Access.” Leading experts will discuss anticompetitive tactics, drug value and evidence, cell and gene therapies and GLP-1 medications, and current federal policy discussions to lower the price of prescription drugs.