4 ms·

> Medical drug patents are arguably the best use case for patents and there doing exactly what they are intended. Sort of. There's still a lot of rent-seeking

> Medical drug patents are arguably the best use case for patents and there doing exactly what they are intended. Sort of. There's still a lot of rent-seeking. Consider this (egregiously) common pattern: 1. Release new wonder drug. 2. Rake in money until patent expires. 3. Make minor tweak to wonder drug, just enough that you can get a new patent. 4. Don't worry that this new version isn't as effective as the original. Just send armies of drug reps to badger doctors into prescribing it anyway. They'll go along with it; they don't have the time to read the medical literature and figure out for themselves that the old version with the expired patent is still a better drug. 5. GOTO 2

acgourley 12y ago
Point 4 is hard to believe, and without it you're describing a well functioning system that promotes investment in new technology.
- UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
  Point 4 is known as "Evergreening" and it surely happens. An example I can think of off the top of my head is Lexapro.
  - toomuchtodo 12y ago
    Pfizer tried to do this in Canada with Viagra, and the Canadian Supreme Court invalidated their patent in return. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/pfizer-caught-gaming-the-system-loses-viagra-patent-in-canada/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/pfizer-caught-gam...
- crpatino 12y ago
  Even assuming point 4 does not hold up, the GP is describing a system that promotes arbitrarily long development cycles. i.e. if it takes 5 years to develop the next generation of a drug, but the patent expires after 20 years, you are basically rewarding the whole industry to do no more than 25-30% of technically feasible R&D.
marcosdumay 12y ago
#4 is because of a defective health-care system. No amount of patent reform can fix that.
seanflyon 12y ago
Another version of steps 3 and 4 is: 3. Discover that the same drug works for a different disease and patent the new application of the old drug. 4. Since the drug is still patented even after the original patent has expired, anyone making the drug still has to pay up even if they are selling it for the original, out of patent, use.
- refurb 12y ago
  That's not true at all. If you patent for disease A, then the patent expires, even if you patent for disease B, it doesn't stop anyone from making a generic version of your drug to treat disease A. Doctors will also prescribe that generic for disease B (there is nothing to stop them).
  - seanflyon 12y ago
    You are right. It seems the story I heard was an exaggeration of the bullying tactics a team of lawyers can perform.

acgourley 12y ago

Point 4 is hard to believe, and without it you're describing a well functioning system that promotes investment in new technology.

UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
Point 4 is known as "Evergreening" and it surely happens. An example I can think of off the top of my head is Lexapro.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Pfizer tried to do this in Canada with Viagra, and the Canadian Supreme Court invalidated their patent in return. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/pfizer-caught-gaming-the-system-loses-viagra-patent-in-canada/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/pfizer-caught-gam...
crpatino 12y ago
Even assuming point 4 does not hold up, the GP is describing a system that promotes arbitrarily long development cycles. i.e. if it takes 5 years to develop the next generation of a drug, but the patent expires after 20 years, you are basically rewarding the whole industry to do no more than 25-30% of technically feasible R&D.

marcosdumay 12y ago

#4 is because of a defective health-care system. No amount of patent reform can fix that.

seanflyon 12y ago

Another version of steps 3 and 4 is: 3. Discover that the same drug works for a different disease and patent the new application of the old drug. 4. Since the drug is still patented even after the original patent has expired, anyone making the drug still has to pay up even if they are selling it for the original, out of patent, use.

refurb 12y ago
That's not true at all. If you patent for disease A, then the patent expires, even if you patent for disease B, it doesn't stop anyone from making a generic version of your drug to treat disease A. Doctors will also prescribe that generic for disease B (there is nothing to stop them).
- seanflyon 12y ago
  You are right. It seems the story I heard was an exaggeration of the bullying tactics a team of lawyers can perform.