For the past decade, policy activists have argued that drug innovators artificially extend the length of their exclusive patent protections on their drugs solely to keep drug prices high. One activist organization, the Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge (I-MAK), alleges that as many as 50 patents currently protect drugs from generic competition.
But are I-MAK’s patent numbers correct? A 2022 Hudson policy memo, “How Unreliable Data Has Infected the Policy Debate Over Drug Patents,”detailed how I-MAK’s patent numbers contradict the number of drug patents listed in the Orange Book, the Food and Drug Administration’s official database of drug patents. Academic scholars have also done rigorous empirical studies, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released its own empirical study in June 2024. Neither the USPTO nor the academic studies could replicate or confirm activist organizations’ patent numbers. Yet I-MAK’s claims continue to drive legislative proposals and agency actions.
Join Hudson for an expert discussion on the state of play concerning the empirical evidence on the connection between drug patents and drug prices and whether officials are engaging in evidence-based policymaking on this pressing concern.
Join Hudson for a discussion with Sir Iain on the economic, political, and security measures the US and its allies need to take to defeat the rising authoritarian axis.
Join Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs for a conversation with Hammer about the book and the future of US-Israel relations.
Former policymakers and leading national security experts will join Hudson to assess how China’s growing influence is reshaping the regional order—and how the US should respond.
Join Hudson for a panel that will examine some of the tools that could help revitalize US investment in the region, including development finance, political risk insurance, and economic innovation zones.
