Drug Patents

When a pharmaceutical company first markets a drug, it is usually under a patent that allows only the pharmaceutical company that developed the drug to sell it.The expiration of a patent removes the monopoly of the patent holder on drug sales licensing.


Patent lifetime differs from country to country,and typically there is no way to renew a patent after it expires.In US drug patents gives 20 years of protection from the date of filling.The standard life time of a European patent is 20 years,calculated from the date of filling.The term for a patent in Japan, China, Korea, and India, is 20 years.In Japan and Korea, in certain circumstances, this period can be extended.


In US patent extension can be granted if changes are made.A new version of the drug with significant changes to the compound could be patented, but this requires new clinical trials.In addition, a patent on a changed compound does not prevent sales of the generic versions of the original drug unless regulators take the original drug off the market.