A Short History of Drug Patent Expirations
The lifespan of a drug patent can be a complicated thing. In many cases when a drug patent expires, it paves the way for cheaper generic drugs or biosimilars to come to market. But few things are simple in healthcare. If a pharma company wants to extend the lifespan of a patent they have a lot of tools to do so, from the practice of evergreening to pre-GATT applications (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade).
This eBook offers a short history of drug patent expirations over the past five years and some analysis on ways that pharma companies are prolonging the life of drug patents.