Recent Changes in Discretionary Denials of Drug Patent Challenges

Tu SS, Rai AK, Kesselheim AS - Health Affairs Scholar

  • Innovation Incentives and Competition

Summary:

USPTO policy changes that sharply limit administrative patent challenges for drug patents, such as discretionary denials based on “settled expectations,” make it harder to challenge weak patents, potentially delaying generic and biosimilar competition. Congress should clarify and restrict discretionary denials to preserve effective patent oversight and timely access to affordable medicines.

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The Impact of Semantics in Medicines Regulation

Costa E, Kesselheim AS - Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics

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Delisted Patents on Pharmaceuticals, 1998-2024

Kirby-Rivera L, Feldman WB, Kim M, Kosmopoulou G, Kesselheim AS, Tu SS - Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics

  • Innovation Incentives and Competition
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Delays in Access to Generic Semaglutide Point to Key Missing Pieces in Canada’s Drug Approval System

Eisenkraft Klein D, Kesselheim AS - Health Policy

  • Innovation Incentives and Competition
  • Regulation and Clinical Evidence
Canada approved its first generic semaglutide nearly four months after market exclusivity expired, with delays arising from the absence of clear standards for demonstrating equivalence between fully synthetic generics and the brand-name product. Regulators should publish equivalence standards so manufacturers can build the required evidence into their initial submissions, helping lower-cost alternatives reach patients sooner.
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