The new study examines whether pharmaceutical firms move away from filing strategic patents once the focal drug gains marketing authorization and the disclosed trial-related information becomes novelty-threatening prior art.
The authors construct novel patent-drug dyadic data and leverage unique European drug patent and marketing contexts. Using an event study methodology, they exploit plausibly exogenous variation in the length of time from patent filing to drug approval. First, they illustrate that drugs with early and late marketing authorization share similar ex ante patent and drug characteristics. Second, they support the hypothesis that strategic patenting behavior decreases substantially after marketing authorization. In contrast, meaningful follow-on innovations remain unaffected. Third, they show that these effects are likely driven by obstacles in the enforceability of marginal patents filed after approval.
The results of the study suggest that post-marketing increases in patentability standards are welfare-enhancing with examiner scrutiny and firm self-adjustment. They highlight the importance of better data provision to patent examiners to increase the quality of follow-up inventions.
Lucy Xiaolu Wang was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute and is now a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She continues to be closely associated with the Institute as an Affiliated Research Fellow.
Dennis Byrski was a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute. In 2021 he submitted his doctoral thesis titled “From Scientific Research to Healthcare Markets – Empirical Essays on the Economics of Pharmaceutical Innovation”. He is now a Junior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company.
The American Society of Health Economists is a professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in health economics research. It aims to enhance individual and societal health by providing evidence and expertise for the development of private and public policies. ASHEcon’s awards honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of health economics.
Directly to the publication:
Byrski, Dennis; Wang, Lucy Xiaolu (2024). Marktzulassung und strategische Patentierung: Evidence from Pharmaceuticals. Verfügbar unter https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4638115.
More information:
2024 ASHEcon Award Winners