Drug Patent Filings Tripled Over Three Decades
Healthcare operators should track how expanding patent thickets affect drug costs and the availability of generic alternatives.
Updated on Sept. 28, 2026 in Healthcare
Live Poll
Do you believe pharmaceutical companies prioritize patent protections over providing affordable medicine to patients?
A recent study in JAMA reports that the average number of patents per small-molecule drug grew from 2.1 in 1990 to 6.9 in 2019. These intellectual property strategies have extended the average duration of drug patent protection from two years to 6.1 years over the same period.
Why it matters
The rise of nonprimary patents creates dense patent thickets that can delay the market entry of affordable generic drugs. This trend, which tracks with rising prescription spending, serves to maintain monopoly pricing periods for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Patent protection for small-molecule drugs reached an average of 6.1 years in 2019, up from two years in 1990. Nonprimary patents now account for 84 percent of all filings on these drugs, contributing to U.S. per capita prescription spending rising to $1,084 from $291 in 1990.
The players
JAMA
A peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes original research and commentary on healthcare and medicine.
Food and Drug Administration
The federal agency responsible for protecting public health through the regulation of food, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
The details
Pharmaceutical companies increasingly secure nonprimary patents for minor product adjustments, including changes to non-active ingredients, updated usage instructions, and specialty delivery devices. These filings effectively shield drugs from generic competition, even as primary patent protections for the core molecules expire. Researchers analyzing FDA data confirm that this layering approach significantly complicates the path for lower-cost generic alternatives to enter the market.
Timeline
1990 served as the baseline year for the 30-year study analysis.
2019 marked the end of the data collection period for the JAMA study.
Monday, September 14, 2026, saw the publication of these research findings.
Market Landscape
The proliferation of nonprimary patent filings follows the well-documented trend of pharmaceutical companies building patent thickets to defend market share. This development contrasts with earlier industry norms where patent protection was primarily tied to the core chemical innovation.
Operators should monitor how extended patent protections impact their prescription drug benefits and long-term healthcare procurement costs. This shift toward extended exclusivity may require companies to re-evaluate their reliance on brand-name medications versus generic alternatives.
The takeaway
The trend of increasing patent density suggests that brand-name drugs will likely maintain market exclusivity for significantly longer periods than in previous decades. Managers should track drug patent expiration timelines closely to identify potential windows for shifting to lower-cost generics.
Further reading
For more on the regulatory and market forces shaping the industry, visit the Healthcare section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Ars Technica.
Live Poll
Do you believe pharmaceutical companies prioritize patent protections over providing affordable medicine to patients?
