Under the current system, patent protection is critical for developing a new therapy. The large clinical trials required for obtaining regulatory approval can cost tens of millions of dollars, and patent royalties are how this investment is recouped and rewarded. Thus, if a drug is off-patent or “generic”, then it has almost no chance of ...

Generics and Biosimilars represent two quickly growing approaches to developing drugs outside of the current patent system. Combined, there was a realized savings of $330 Billion dollars in 2020 [1, 4]. These numbers are growing quickly and novel new research funding mechanisms like pay-for-success contracts can help radically accelerate their presence in the market. Generic ...

Millions of lives could be saved if drug companies weren’t limited by a patent model that dates back to the 15th century [1]. The problem is that when the patent on a drug runs out, drug prices plummet, creating a patent “cliff” that leaves pharma companies with almost no incentive to repurpose off-patent drugs for ...

A golden opportunity is frequently being missed due to a lack of financial incentives to study old inexpensive generic drugs for new indications. Imagine that you discovered that a combination of off-patent (“generic”) drugs worked to better treat pancreatic cancer, which otherwise kills 95% of sufferers within five years of diagnosis. This may sound like ...

Social Impact Bonds are novel new financial models that connect private investors with larger funding sources like governments. This model allows risk-tolerant investors to provide money up-front to fund programs targeting social issues in a way that only requires risk-averse funders like governments to spent where results are seen. In other words, Social Impact Bonds ...