How patent thickets protect pharmaceutical profits

This is Part 5 of “Behind the Counter,” an in-depth video series demystifying the complex world of patents and drug pricing.

When patents on brand-name drugs expire, the price of that drug drops significantly as generic versions come onto the market. Lower prices are good news for patients looking for cheaper medications, but the transition can sometimes take a while. Depending on the type of drug, the number of its patents, and its placement on health insurance formularies, it can take anywhere from a few years to nearly a decade for a drug's list price to change significantly.

The best-known example of this process is AbbVie's Humira, which was protected from biosimilar competition by dozens of patents for nearly seven years after its original patents expired. That allowed Humira to make billions of dollars from the biologic drug, which treats conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

This video shows exactly how AbbVie used patents to protect Humira and examines how all the topics covered in this series so far – including mechanisms for bringing generic drugs to market and benefit managers in pharmacies – work together to increase drug prices influence. And if you need a refresher on biologics and biosimilars, that's covered too.

STAT's reporting on patent issues is supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Fund. Our financial supporters are not involved in any decisions about our journalism.