How the US patent system keeps drug prices high
Summary
Science Friday host Flora Lichtman interviews Tahir Amin, author of *Pharma Monopoly*, about how the US patent system drives high drug prices. Amin explains that pharmaceutical companies use overlapping patents on formulations and indications to extend monopolies and block generics, citing examples like Keytruda and Humira. He argues that the industry prioritizes shareholder wealth over public health, neglecting unprofitable diseases, and calls for policy reforms such as limiting exclusivity and establishing public manufacturing alternatives.
Topics discussed
Sponsors: NYSCI, Con Edison, and Poster House
Intro: High drug prices and guest Tahir Amin
How overlapping patents extend monopolies
Patent thickets and litigation costs
Questioning the billion-dollar drug development myth
Profit motives vs. public health needs
Solutions: One patent per ingredient and public manufacturing
Industry insiders and the dilution of innovation
Outro and sponsor Mohawk Mountain House
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