A recently released survey from The Initiative for Medicines, Access, and
Knowledge (I-MAK) finds across party lines, Americans are deeply concerned with
high prescription drug prices and overwhelmingly support reforming the
pharmaceutical patent system to boost competition and lower prices.
November 14, 2025
TOPLINE
A recently released survey from The Initiative for Medicines, Access, and
Knowledge (I-MAK) finds across party lines, Americans are deeply concerned with
high prescription drug prices and overwhelmingly support reforming the
pharmaceutical patent system to boost competition and lower prices.
According to I-MAK’s “Understanding Americans’ Top Concerns on Drug Pricing:
Corporate Greed” survey, conducted by Franklin & Marshall College’s Center for
Opinion Research, a 61 percent majority of American adults attribute high drug
prices to corporate greed and profit-seeking behavior from Big Pharma. An
overwhelming 80 percent support changes to U.S. patent laws to address drug
pricing.
The findings come as Big Pharma continues to game the U.S. patent system and
block competition from more affordable alternatives — enabling brand name drug
companies to extend monopolies over their biggest money-makers and price-gouge
American patients. Read more from I-MAKHERE
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.
And, in case you missed it, Big Pharma company AstraZeneca reported third
quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations — continuing a trend among
major drug manufacturers posting strong profits on the heels of continuing to
hike prescription drug prices this year. Read more on expectation-beating third
quarter earnings from AstraZenecaHERE
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QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“While some skeptics dismiss patent reform as too technical or wonky for the
American public to grasp, this survey confirms what we at I-MAK have long
known: patent abuse only seems complicated because it has been kept in the
dark.”
Tahir Amin, CEO, Initiatives for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge
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DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
$307.1 Million
The amount Big Pharma spent on direct-to-consumer advertising in October, a
new monthly record, according toreporting
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from Fierce Pharma.
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
@IMAKglobal <[link removed]>: “The
survey of 726 Americans reveals strong bipartisan support for healthcare reform
measures, particularly patent system changes that could increase market
competition and reduce drug prices.
[link removed]
<[link removed]>”
@Runaway_Rx <[link removed]>: “Watch
out for #BigPharma’s ‘Thicket Trap’ – a tactic used to prevent affordable,
generic drugs from breaking into the market by creating a thicket of
insignificant and overlapping patents. That’s not their only play! Learn more
Big Pharma’s Patent tactics to keep drug prices high in our Big Pharma Patent
Playbook:[link removed] <[link removed]> #TheProblemIsThePrice”
ROAD TO RECOVERY
Inside Health Policy: CSRxP: Big Pharma Earnings Watch: AbbVie, Amgen & Pfizer
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This week, Big Pharma companies AbbVie, Amgen and Pfizer reported third
quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street analyst expectations. These strong
earnings come following numerous price hikes from the companies on their
best-selling products throughout the year. Several of the companies raised
their guidance for the year. In fact, AbbVie’s CEO, on the company’s earnings
call, said: “We’ve beaten and raised in every quarter in 2025.”
Inside Health Policy: I-MAK Survey Finds Four In Five Americans Support Patent
Reforms To Lower Prescription Drug Prices
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In case you missed it, a recently released survey from The Initiative for
Medicines, Access, and Knowledge (I-MAK) finds across party lines, Americans
are deeply concerned with high prescription drug prices and overwhelmingly
support reforming the pharmaceutical patent system to boost competition and
lower prices. According to I-MAK’s “Understanding Americans’ Top Concerns on
Drug Pricing: Corporate Greed” survey, conducted by Franklin & Marshall
College’s Center for Opinion Research, a 61 percent majority of American adults
attribute high drug prices to corporate greed and profit-seeking behavior from
Big Pharma. A massive 80 percent support changes to U.S. patent laws to address
drug pricing.
PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS
Bloomberg: Drugmakers Pile Into a Cancer Gold Rush With Questionable Payoff
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In one of the biggest cancer spending sprees in years, pharmaceutical giants
are pouring billions into developing treatments linking old drugs together —
with little proof they can help patients live longer.
It’s an industry gold rush based on a tantalizing prospect: a new class of
treatments that might dethrone Merck & Co.’s Keytruda, an immunotherapy used in
a range of cancers and one of the world’s best-selling medicines. The drugs
aren’t based on a breakthrough discovery. Instead, they combine versions of
Keytruda and Roche Holding AG’s Avastin into a single drug. With the individual
therapies, combinations have been tested repeatedly with limited success in
prolonging lives.
Fox Business: Top 5 Most Expensive Drugs For Consumers
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President Donald Trump put pharmaceutical CEOs on notice, demanding they lower
drug prices or he promised to get involved. He penned a letter to 17 CEOs in
July, outlining what he wants from the pharma industry to cut expenses for
consumers. In many cases, Americans are paying higher prices for drugs that
treat common conditions, while customers in foreign countries pay less.
Fierce Pharma: TV Ad Spending Skyrocketed To New Heights In October, Led By
Record Outlay For J&J's Tremfya
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After spending much of the year sloping steadily downward from a January peak,
TV drug ad spending picked up in a major way last month. The combined outlay
for the top 10 brands in October weighed in at $307.1 million, according to
data shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing by iSpot.TV. Not only does that far
outweigh recent months’ totals, which hadn’t crossed the $200 million threshold
since June, but it also blows past the record high of $302.5 million set in
January. The sudden spike was somewhat to be expected: 2025’s monthly spending
totals have largely followed a pattern set last year—albeit on a ramped-up
scale—where a high-flying January was followed by a steep drop-off before the
numbers soared to new heights in the final three months of the year.
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