Posts Tagged: "follow on drugs"

The Myth of ‘Trivial’ Drug Patents

Critics of drug patents often claim that when initial drug patents expire, drug companies stuff their patent portfolios with “trivial” patents that unjustifiably extend their patent monopoly to keep the prices up.  This argument perpetuates common myths and misunderstandings that fail on several levels… In the last decade, large molecule biological drugs have come to the fore. They provide dramatic new treatments for some conditions but can be very expensive. It is difficult to develop inexpensive generic-type versions for biological drugs.