Shocking Truth About Big Pharma

Big Pharma's Patent Laws: How They Affect Consumers

In this video, the speaker discusses how pharmaceutical companies use patent laws to protect their drugs from generic competition for up to 40 years. This results in high drug prices that many consumers cannot afford.

The Impact of Pharmaceutical Patents

• Two-thirds of Americans who filed for bankruptcy last year did so because they could not afford medical bills.

• Pharmaceutical patents last for 20 years, and in some cases, companies can patent multiple times to protect their drugs for up to 40 years.

• The top-selling brand drug Humira has been on the market since 2002 and is protected by 132 patents that block competition for up to 39 years.

• Cancer treatment Revlimid was approved in 2005 and is protected by a thicket of 96 patents that provide potentially 40 years without any competition.

Extending Patents Beyond the Limit

• Pharmaceutical companies use several tactics to extend their patents beyond the limit:

• Evergreening: making slight modifications to an existing drug and patenting the new version

• Patent term extension: applying for an extension if they have invested significant time and resources in developing the drug

• Data exclusivity: receiving a period of data exclusivity during which they have exclusive rights to clinical trial data they've generated

• Patent clustering: filing multiple patents around a single drug covering various aspects such as manufacturing processes formulations.

Collaborative Solutions

• The speaker proposes finding ways for pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and consumers to work together collaboratively while still making billions of dollars.

• By doing so, it would be possible to save consumers money and make drugs more cost-effective.

Conclusion

The speaker concludes that pharmaceutical patents have a significant impact on the affordability of drugs for many Americans. By finding collaborative solutions, it may be possible to reduce drug prices while still allowing companies to make a profit.

Strategies Used by Pharmaceutical Companies to Extend Patents

In this section, the speaker discusses various strategies used by pharmaceutical companies to extend their patents and maintain market exclusivity.

Orphan Drug Exclusivity

• Orphan drugs receive extended market exclusivity to encourage companies to invest in research and development for rare diseases.

Legal Challenges

• Pharmaceutical companies may engage in litigation to enforce their patents or challenge the validity of generic competition.

• Generic entry typically leads to an average 80% market share loss.

Examples of Patent Expiration

• Lipitor, a Pfizer cholesterol-lowering medication, experienced a dramatic drop-off in revenue after its patent expired in 2011.

• Nexium, a drug for gastro reflux disease, also saw a significant decrease in revenue after its patent expired in 2014.

• Seroquel, a prescription for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, experienced a 98.5% drop-off in revenue after its patent expired in 2012.

The Top Ten Most Expensive Drugs in America Today

In this section, the speaker discusses the top ten most expensive drugs currently available on the American market.

Top Ten Most Expensive Drugs

• Zolgensma is the most expensive drug at $2.125 million per year for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.

• Zokinvi is second on the list at $1.073 million per year for treatment of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.

• Luxturna is a gene therapy drug that costs $850,000 per year for the treatment of inherited retinal disease.

• Soliris is used to treat rare blood disorders and costs $700,000 per year.

• Spinraza is used to treat spinal muscular atrophy and costs $750,000 for the first year and $375,000 each subsequent year.

• Kymriah is a CAR-T cell therapy used to treat certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. It costs $475,000 per treatment.

• Yescarta is another CAR-T cell therapy used to treat certain types of lymphoma. It costs $373,000 per treatment.

• Brineura is an enzyme replacement therapy used to treat a rare form of Batten disease. It costs $702,000 per year.

• Ravicti is a medication used to manage urea cycle disorders. It costs $793,632 per year.

• Cerdelga is an oral medication used to treat Gaucher disease type 1. It costs approximately $310,250 per year.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by summarizing the main points discussed in the video.

Key Takeaways

• Pharmaceutical companies use various strategies to extend their patents and maintain market exclusivity.

• Patent expiration can lead to significant drops in revenue for pharmaceutical companies.

• The top ten most expensive drugs in America are used to treat rare diseases and disorders.

Expensive Drugs and Patents

In this section, the speaker discusses expensive drugs and patents. They mention several drugs that are used to treat various conditions and their costs. The speaker also talks about the history of patent laws in the United States and how they have affected drug prices.

High Cost of Drugs

• Uveal melanoma is a form of eye cancer that costs $929,000 per year to treat.

• Gene therapy for inherited retinal dystrophy costs $850 per year.

• Sito is used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and costs $754,000 per year.

• Prices for prescription drugs have nearly 8x since 1980.

History of Patent Laws

• The first patent law was enacted in the United States in 1790 during George Washington's presidency.

• The Hatch-Waxman Act was passed in 1984, which lowered patent protection from 20 years to 14 years.

• In 1994, the GATT agreement raised patent protection back up to 20 years.

Arguments For and Against Long Patents

For Long Patents

1. Incentivizing innovation

2. Promoting drug access and availability

3. Protecting intellectual property rights

Against Long Patents

1. High drug prices and access barriers

2. Monopolistic practices and lack of competition

3. Limited innovation and repurposing

4. Publicly funded research and development

5. Ethical considerations

Conclusion

• The drop-off in drug prices after the patent expires can be addressed by Congress and the President.

• Lobbyists for Big Pharma spend millions of dollars on mainstream media companies to prevent discussion of patent laws.

• The speaker does not provide a solution but presents both sides of the argument.

The Benefits of Leasing Patents

In this section, the speaker discusses the benefits of leasing patents and how it can benefit both the patent holder and other companies.

Leasing Patents

• The speaker suggests that instead of protecting a patent for 20 years, a company should lease their patent to other companies after five years.

• The patent holder can lease their patent to any other company after five years and receive 10% of whatever they sell it for, for 15 years.

• This means that if a drug is being sold for $1000, after five years, another company can sell it for $200. The original patent holder will still receive 10% of whatever the new company sells it for.

• If 20 companies start selling the drug at $200 each, then the original patent holder will make money from all those sales.

Free Market vs Regulation

• The speaker argues that regulation hurts businesses because it tells them what price point to put their product at. He believes in letting consumers dictate what's the right number through free market principles.

• He believes that capitalism benefits everyone involved - innovators win, companies win, and consumers win.

Overall, this section discusses how leasing patents can be beneficial to both the original patent holder and other companies. It also highlights the speaker's belief in free market principles over government regulation.