The Benefit Company
Healthcare in the US continues to be far more expensive than in other parts of the world. Here is one of many reasons why… let us start with our legal system & patents.
You might ask what healthcare and our legal system have to do with each other… in this instance, I’m talking about Patent Law. As an entertainer, someone with intellectual property and the more traditional invention – a great patent law attorney can protect what you’ve created and help you profit from that creation. As a rule of thumb, most patents have a 20-year lifespan with perhaps a few years on the backend to account for the time to get the patent issued.
The problem today is not a struggling inventor’s life work… a breakthrough drug called Enbrel was patented around 1992. The only real change the drug has gone through since then is a massive price increase. Amgen who owns rights to it will have had a monopoly for roughly 37 years when it is all said and done. So, what is the point of a 20-year patent when it can be morphed and litigated to 37 years?
The point for Amgen is that by 2029 they will have earned over 100 Billion in sales for a product that hasn’t changed since 1992.
Please check out the great article by Jonathan Gardner for deeper details, it is linked here: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/amgen-enbrel-patent-thicket-monopoly-biosimilar/609042/
Nick Hendricks
Consultant
- Self-funding
- Pharmacy Benefit Management Optimization
- Employee Benefit Captives
- Population Health Data Analytics
- Disability Contracts
- Government Contractors