Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Opinion
October 27, 2018 12:00 AM

Commentary: Abuse of U.S. patent system drives high drug prices

Tahir Amin
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Tahir Amin is co-founder and co-executive director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge (I-MAK), a global not-for-profit organization of attorneys, scientists and health experts who have worked to lower drug prices for 15 years.

    As of this month, thousands of people who take Humira to treat arthritis and inflammatory disease are able to access the medicine more cheaply—in Europe. That's because alternative versions, called biosimilars, are hitting the European markets, giving patients in over two dozen countries more affordable choices for getting the care they need. Sadly, Americans won't be so fortunate.

    As a new analysis by my organization shows, the maker of Humira has extended its U.S. monopoly on the drug for years by pursuing patenting strategies that delay competition and allow the company, AbbVie, to keep prices high. Humira has 247 patent applications in the U.S., compared with 76 in Europe. Almost 50% of Humira's U.S. patent applications were filed in the past four years, even though the drug has been on the market since 2002.

    Why should an old drug suddenly claim new patents? Simple: monopoly power. More patents mean more years a company can hold a monopoly and charge whatever they want.

    The great American migraine of excessive drug prices needs relief—fast. To stop the rising cost of drugs, we need to stop drugmakers from taking advantage of a patent system that allows them to prolong monopolies and dictate prices well beyond the 20 years provided by law.

    Humira is a prime example. From 2012 to 2016, as AbbVie layered on more patents, the company raised the price by 18% every year. Total spending on Humira by Medicare and Medicaid during this time increased 266%. AbbVie's anti-competitive patenting strategy has allowed it to extend its U.S. monopoly until at least 2023.

    For the company, the payoff is clear: Humira provides nearly two-thirds of AbbVie's revenue, generating over $100 billion in sales since 2002. Every extra year of patent protections in the U.S. earns the company $12.4 billion, or $34 million a day. For U.S. patients, taxpayers, insurers and government health providers, however, the benefit is less clear. The U.S. is poised to spend more than $14 billion on Humira over the next five years before less-costly biosimilars arrive.

    But overpatenting is not limited to Humira. Another recent I-MAK analysis found that the 12 top-selling drugs in America average 125 patent applications per drug, giving each an average 38 years of attempted patent protections. Since 2012, the prices of 11 of these best-sellers have risen an average of 80%. Americans spend more than anyone else in the world on medicine in large part because drugmakers exploit the power to charge so much in the first place.

    The pharmaceutical industry claims its practices are all in service of medical advances, then blames others for rising prices and insists that fair competition will hinder progress. But the Martin Shkrelis of the world have made it clear that charging as much as possible for medicine is the name of the game—a “moral obligation”—and that patents are fundamental to this strategy. AbbVie's chief financial officer boasted about patents to Wall Street investors just last month when he said: “You've seen us execute very nicely with our legal strategy and the settlements around the U.S. events to delay the onset of (loss of Humira's exclusivity) into the 2022-23 time period.”

    A big patent estate might sound nice to investors, but exploitative patenting practices have real-life implications. Americans are making impossible sacrifices to get the medicines they need. They overwhelmingly say drug prices are too high, that Washington isn't doing enough, and that drugmakers have “too much influence” in the capital.

    Congress can start listening by holding public hearings about the role of overpatenting in the drug-pricing crisis. The abuse and misuse of the patent system by drugmakers needs to stop, and patients and consumer advocates deserve more say in the patent system. Patents are an important tool for rewarding research on new inventions, but when they become tools for controlling the market, blocking competition and keeping prices high, we have a problem.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    FTC healthcare
    LCMC, HCA notch win against feds in acquisition case
    insurance investment
    Intermountain boosts Select Health with UCHealth deal
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing