Myths & Misconceptions: Setting the Record Straight on IP in the Pharma Sector

Myths & Misconceptions: Setting the Record Straight on IP in the Pharma Sector

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Last year Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to voice his concerns over “sources that are often cited to advance the false narrative that patent protections are to blame for high drug prices.” As Senator Tillis’ letter would go on to conclude, policymaking in this critical area must be based on accurate, reliable, and replicable facts and evidence.

In this letter Senator Tillis focused on statements made by I-MAK that the organization knows—or should know—to be false. Indeed, when I-MAK makes claims about the number of patents that cover a certain drug they have admitted to counting abandoned patent applications, which obviously greatly inflate their numbers but are not patents and can never become patents. I-MAK is also similarly untruthful about when drug patents expire, often complaining about how some phantom patent is blocking generic entry to the marketplace years after generics are already selling the drug.

I-MAK’s falsification of information, as easy as it is to disprove, does unfortunately play a role in policymaking and in winning hearts and minds of the public. But I-MAK fairy tales are not the only ones that plague the system and prevent honest, thorough and rational discussion of these important issues. There are many myths about intellectual property—patents in particular—harming the pharmaceutical industry and thereby harming individuals. Inaccurate statements about vaccine IP, and the role IP plays in pandemic preparedness, the myth that the “public pays twice” because the government funds basic university scientific research, and the erroneous belief that government funds the bulk of pharmaceutical innovation all cause real damage. Indeed, if the facts are on the side of those who do not like intellectual property in the pharma space why must they misrepresent and often lie outright, such as in the case of I-MAK?

Our panel will debunk these and other myths often cited by opponents of the patent system.

Materials

Calling out IMAK Misinformation (an infographic)

Facts, Not False Political Narratives, Should Drive American Competitiveness

Tillis Wants More Info on I-MAK and Other Data Driving Anti-Patent Narratives Around Drug Pricing

Tillis Pushes Tai Again on TRIPS IP Waiver Proposal

COVID IP Waiver Attempts are Becoming Harder to Justify

NOTE: Gene Quinn, President & CEO of IPWatchdog, will moderate this panel.