Thicket...

Lawmakers are considering a bill to address what President Trump called a top priority in his State of the Union speech: lowering prescription drug prices.

Critics say some drug companies hold onto their exclusive sales of a brand-name drug – and  their profits – are playing games to stave off generic competitors, leaving patients out in the cold.

In one form, a brand company will pay a generic to delay entering the market,"  "In another form it will switch from one version of a drug to another, just trivially different, just to keep generics off the market…. They call it life-cycle management. I call it anti-competitive conduct."
 
Often, the games involve patents, the government protection that gives companies the exclusive right to sell their drug for 20 years. But drug makers have found ways to extend those protections much longer.

For example, rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira last year generated $18 billion for manufacturer AbbVie. But its original patent was expiring in 2016. So to protect it, Carrier says AbbVie built what's called a "patent thicket" of more than 100 additional patents.