Serial Patent Litigation: an Emerging Strategy to Delay Entry of Generic Competition

Bonis T, Kesselheim AS, Tu SS - Health Affairs Scholar

  • Innovation Incentives and Competition

Summary:

Brand-name drug manufacturers are increasingly filing repeated, nearly identical lawsuits, known as “serial patent litigation,” to delay the entry of generic competitors and keep drug prices high. This strategy raises costs for generic manufacturers, discourages competition, and ultimately limits patient access to affordable medicines, highlighting the need for legal reforms to protect timely generic entry.

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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

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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

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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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