Balancing Innovation and Accessibility: Reforming Patent Policy for Patient Benefit

Featuring

[Moderator] Wayne Brough, Policy Director, Technology and Innovation, R Street Institute

Tahir Amin, Co-Founder and CEO, Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge

Michael Carrier, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers Law School

Alex Moss, Executive Director, Public Interest Patent Law Institute

Overview

Patents play a key role in the prices we pay for prescription drugs. While patents are designed to spur innovation, their misuse can inflate drug prices and limit access to medications. Please join R Street in a lively discussion on the current state of patent policy. We will examine the critical issues surrounding patent policy, the detrimental effects of patent gamesmanship, and the urgent need for reform to ensure patients have access to essential treatments and technologies.

Key Topics

• Current state of patent policy and its impact on innovation in the health care sector
• Prevalence of patent gamesmanship—including tactics like patent thickets, evergreening, and product hopping—and its impact on patients and consumers
• Real-world consequences of patent abuse on patient care, including delayed access to affordable treatments and restricted availability of lifesaving technologies
• Policy solutions and best practices to foster a balanced patent system that incentivizes innovation while prioritizing patient needs