GoKawiilJAMA study finds pharma patents per drug tripled since 1990
A study published in JAMA and led by patent-law researcher S. Sean Tu found that the average number of patents on small-molecule drugs rose from 2.1 per drug approved in 1990 to 6.9 for drugs approved in 2019. Most of the increase came from 'nonprimary' patents covering things like inactive ingredients, usage instructions, or delivery devices rather than the drug's core active ingredient. The researchers calculated that this expanded patent protection now extends effective monopoly periods from an average of two years to about 6.1 years.