The patent system is meant to reward innovation by allowing drugmakers to exclusively sell new medications on the market for a set period of time — typically 20 years.
That tactic is referred to as “evergreening” — an industry practice in which a drugmaker extends the patent by making small tweaks to the drug or the device used to deliver the medication.
The practice of making tweaks to a drug or its delivery device is not illegal, Arti Rai, a professor at Duke University School of Law, told lawmakers.
Late last month, the Federal Trade Commission challenged hundreds of patent listings it said were intended to prevent lower priced drugs from reaching the market.
Eli Lilly has successfully extended Humalog’s patent multiple times since its approval over 20 years ago, keeping generic versions off the market until recently.
The active ingredients in them haven’t significantly changed over the past three decades, he said, yet prices remain high because extended patents have limited competition.
The original article contains 582 words, the summary contains 163 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The patent system is meant to reward innovation by allowing drugmakers to exclusively sell new medications on the market for a set period of time — typically 20 years.
That tactic is referred to as “evergreening” — an industry practice in which a drugmaker extends the patent by making small tweaks to the drug or the device used to deliver the medication.
The practice of making tweaks to a drug or its delivery device is not illegal, Arti Rai, a professor at Duke University School of Law, told lawmakers.
Late last month, the Federal Trade Commission challenged hundreds of patent listings it said were intended to prevent lower priced drugs from reaching the market.
Eli Lilly has successfully extended Humalog’s patent multiple times since its approval over 20 years ago, keeping generic versions off the market until recently.
The active ingredients in them haven’t significantly changed over the past three decades, he said, yet prices remain high because extended patents have limited competition.
The original article contains 582 words, the summary contains 163 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!