Makers of blockbuster weight loss drugs are using 'patent thickets' to protect products, Harvard study claims
Manufacturers of GLP-1s are shielding their products with intricate webs of intellectual property protection known as patent thickets and are doing so more aggressively than with older products, a team of researchers at Harvard University claimed in a new report.
Through a review of the FDA’s Orange Book — the agency’s record of marketed drugs and their patents — the researchers identified dozens of patents that aren’t related to the active drug product. The authors claim that this goes beyond the level of disconnected patents that companies have used for other combination products, like insulin pens and inhalers.
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