In case you missed it, the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge
(I-MAK) released the latest installment of 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.





 

June 20, 2025



TOPLINE



In case you missed it, the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge
(I-MAK) released the latestinstallment
<[link removed]> of
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.



The report highlights how Big Pharma giant Novo Nordisk has become a
particular 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.



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 more on top takeaways from the I-MAK report
HERE
<[link removed]>
and access the full reportHERE
<[link removed]>.



QUOTES OF THE WEEK



“As Secretary Kennedy has consistently emphasized, direct-to-consumer
pharmaceutical advertising must prioritize accuracy, patient safety, and the
public interest — not profit margins. [The department is] exploring ways to
restore more rigorous oversight and improve the quality of information
presented to American consumers.”



Andrew Nixon, Spokesperson, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
<[link removed]>



DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW



320



The number of patent applications filed by Novo Nordisk on its blockbuster
GLP-1 brand name drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, that all rely on the same
active ingredient, according to areport
<[link removed]> from
Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge (I-MAK).



TWEETS OF THE WEEK



@IMAKglobal <[link removed]>: “NEW: Today
we published a new Overpatented, Overpriced report and launched an expanded and
updated version of The Drug Patent Book, our searchable database of every
patent we've uncovered on many of the most widely-used drugs in the U.S.”



@RSI <[link removed]>: “Pharmaceutical companies
routinely employ tactics to maintain artificially high prices long after their
original patents expire. If the president is interested in reducing drug
prices, patent abuse must also be addressed.”



ROAD TO RECOVERY



The Pharma Letter: Senate Drops Orphan Drug Bill Amendment Opposed By Patient
Advocates
<[link removed]>



A controversial proposal to change the Inflation Reduction Act’s pricing
framework for rare disease drugs has been dropped from the Senate’s
reconciliation package, marking a win for patient advocacy groups that lobbied
against it. The ORPHAN Cures Act, which sought to shield some rare disease
drugs from Medicare price talks, was notably absent from the text released this
week by the Senate Finance Committee. Patients for Affordable Drugs Now
(P4ADNow), a Washington-based nonprofit, welcomed the omission, characterizing
it as a patient-led victory over what it called industry-friendly legislation.



PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS



UChicago Medicine: Are GLP-1 Drugs Worth Their Current Cost?
<[link removed]>



Medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide (known by commercial names like
Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro) that target GLP-1 receptors have
revolutionized the treatment of diabetes and, offering dramatic weight loss and
surprising benefits for other chronic conditions. But they come at a steep
cost, and public health experts and health economists are raising a fundamental
question: are these drugs really worth what we’re paying? Two new studies led
by researchers at the University of Chicago found that although GLP-1 drugs
deliver impressive long-term health improvements, their current prices far
exceed accepted thresholds for cost-effectiveness, posing difficult choices for
policymakers, insurers and patients.



The Lever: Drugmakers’ Secret Weapon To Keep Your Meds Overpriced
<[link removed]>



Pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the drug patent system to
keep prices of essential medications high, according to a new report — and that
includes blockbuster weight-loss drugs and other expensive medications set for
government price negotiations this year. The new findings illustrate how
drugmakers file dozens of patents to cover minor modifications in the same drug
in order to extend their market exclusivity, delaying the entry of cheaper
generic medications and generating billions of dollars in extra revenue.



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