they can patent molecules and synthetic routes. but once one company shows that targeting a particular receptor works, or binding to some site on a protein, oth

they can patent molecules and synthetic routes. but once one company shows that targeting a particular receptor works, or binding to some site on a protein, other companies can find drugs that so the same thing but look different. for instance, Prozac was a breakthrough (the first SSRI), but it was easy for other companies to make their own SSRIs.