Analysis Underscores How Anti-Competitive Tactics Like Patent Thicketing Keep
U.S. Drug Prices High





 



DOSE OF REALITY: I-MAK REPORT FINDS BIG PHARMA’S PATENT ABUSE WILL GENERATE
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR MANUFACTURERS WHILE DELAYING COMPETITION

Analysis Underscores How Anti-Competitive Tactics Like Patent Thicketing Keep
U.S. Drug Prices High



In case you missed it, the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge
(I-MAK) released the latestinstallment
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the organization’s “Overpatented, Overpriced” series, analyzing Big Pharma’s
egregious abuse of the U.S. patent system and how these anti-competitive
strategies keep prescription drug prices high.



I-MAK’s latest report highlights blockbuster brand name drugs Eliquis,
Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy as particular case studies in how Big Pharma games
the system to extend monopoly pricing.



Bristol Myers Squibb & Pfizer: The report details how Bristol Myers Squibb
(BMS) and Pfizer recently secured a patent term extension (PTE) on
blood-thinner Eliquis, securing patent exclusivity for an additional four years
to 2026, 24 years after the first patent was filed on the blockbuster drug in
2002.



During these four years of delayed competition, Eliquis is projected to
generate $39.1 billion in U.S. revenue for its Big Pharma manufacturers. Pfizer
and BMS are set to rake in an additional $11.6 billion in U.S. sales in the
16-month gap before the anticipated first generic launches in April of 2028. As
a result of this anti-competitive gamesmanship of the U.S. patent system, BMS
and Pfizer will collect approximately $50 billion in U.S. revenue from this
high-priced brand name drug that would otherwise be subject to generic
competition.



The I-MAK report also shines a spotlight on the egregious price discrepancies
between the U.S. and other countries. For example, in the U.S., a monthly
supply of Eliquis costs $521, whereas Australia has a price tag of just $70 per
month.



Novo Nordisk: I-MAK’s report highlights how Big Pharma giant Novo Nordisk has
become a new poster child for the egregious anti-competitive pharmaceutical
industry practice of patent-thicketing, filing “320 U.S. patent applications
related to its three products, Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy, which all use the
same active ingredient—semaglutide.”



Novo Nordisk’s most recently secured patent will help the big drug company
undermine competition to these products for an additional five years through
2031, despite the primary patent on semaglutide expiring in 2026. During that
extended window, I-MAK estimates Novo Nordisk will earn an estimated $166
billion from Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy.



Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy also offer stark examples in pricing disparities
for the U.S. compared with other developed countries. According to the I-MAK
report:

* U.S. prices for brand name semaglutide products are, on average,
three-to-eight times higher than comparable economically wealthy nations.
* The price differential is most pronounced for Ozempic, where U.S. patients
pay eight times more than European patients.
Congress should build on strong bipartisan support for market-based solutions,
like Cornyn-Blumenthal, that will hold Big Pharma accountable for egregious
abuse of the patent system and help foster greater competition to lower drug
prices for American patients.



Read the full report from I-MAK HERE
<[link removed]>.



Read more about how Big Pharma’s patent abuse extends monopolies to keep
prices high on GLP-1sHERE
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.



Read more on the cost of Big Pharma’s patent abuse and market-based solutions
to boost competitionHERE
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