Thank you @tahiramin.bsky.social @imakglobal.bsky.social for supporting @fr.publiceye.ch in our patent analysis of cancer drug #Keytruda, in conjunction with @icij.org, unveiling MSD's gaming of the patent systems to maintain overinflated prices & delay competition www.publiceye.ch/en/topics/ph...

Our team at @imakglobal.bsky.social provided patenting data to @icij.org for their investigation into Merck's Keytruda. The ICIJ reviewed the data and built a visualization of Merck’s patent portfolio.

A team of journalists at the @icij.org and 47 media partners in 37 countries just published a yearlong investigation into how Merck built its global Keytruda monopoly.

Our team at @imakglobal.bsky.social released a new brief, The Monopoly Extension Menu.🧵 reports.i-mak.org/monopoly-ext...

Really looking forward to chatting to my old friend @tahiramin.bsky.social about his new book Pharma Monopoly. 27.04 in London 👇 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tahir-amin...

GLP-1 sales accounted for about 74% of Novo’s total revenue last year. Novo will generate an est. $94B from U.S. GLP-1 sales between 2018-2026. They’re expected to return up to $68B, or 72 cents of every dollar, to shareholders via buybacks and dividends, during that same period.

Important reporting by The New York Times. The primary patents on Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy should expire today. Generics are expected to launch in India shortly after, followed by China, Canada, Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/h...

In his SOTU, President Trump claimed he is “ending the wildly inflated costs of prescription drugs." "Other presidents tried to do it but they never could,” he said. “I got it done.” TrumpRX is a gimmick. 🧵

Tech and pharma will pour money into AI-related lobbying this year, especially to shape IP policy. Tech will push for carve outs while pharma will demand we expand what counts as patentable to include AI-assisted discoveries so they can generate more follow-on patents.

Sen Coons: "I was in-house counsel to a global company that had a very large patent estate.” Fox in the henhouse comes to mind.

Good point by Tim Wu. The pharma market is especially prone to extraction because pharma patents/IP confer power that patents/IP in other fields of technology simply don’t.

Excellent substack from Thomas Krause. A linear, logical explanation of a simple truth: creating patent thickets is standard practice and patients pay the price. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Very excited to be partnering with @tahiramin.bsky.social, @miracleworkerpr.bsky.social, @lauradigiovine.bsky.social and @politybooks.bsky.social books to usher PHARMA MONOPOLY into the world. Media friends, let me know if we can send you a galley.

Medicare's Drug Price Negotiation Program recently announced the 15 drugs selected for its third round of negotiations. As the program expands, its success is in danger of being undercut by legislators giving drug companies new ways to extend their monopolies. 🧵 www.statnews.com/2026/01/27/m...

“Drug companies, including the 16 that made deals [with the Trump administration], raised the prices of 872 brand-name drugs in the first two weeks of 2026” www.npr.org/2026/01/16/n...

Price hikes by pharma companies between Jan 1 and Jan 9

I’m excited to share that my first book, Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines, co-written with Rohit Malpani, will be published in March in the UK/Europe and May in the U.S.

This is called product hopping.

“Moving patients to the newer version is key for Bristol because it has a longer patent life than the mainstay version of the drug that’s infused…Bristol also hopes the newer version can avoid being part of price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act…”

We will continue to fight for that world that David dreamed of, a world where lifesaving medicines can be within reach of every patient. Rest in power, David.

He should launch a generic drug company and take on big pharma patent monopolies next.

Get ready for pharma companies to ratchet up “lifecycle management” strategies under the language of “innovation” to squeeze even more $ from their blockbusters as they all chase the new $1T benchmark

👏 NEWS: Teva removes over 200 improper Orange Book patent listings under pressure from the FTC. 🔗 www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/ftc-c...

Good to see the FTC continue Lina Khan's policies of enforcement against improper patent listings

Our team at @imakglobal.bsky.social partnered with @statnews.com to analyze our @fandmpoll.bsky.social survey on how the public views drug pricing. What stands out is how Americans across the political spectrum support patent reform.

This is true. Look at AbbVie’s CEO. It says a lot about a pharma company's priorities when their CEO's bio focuses entirely on financial achievements.

The TRIPS Agreement has nothing to do with free trade and everything to do with protecting corporate monopolies. It’s why pharma was able to block South Africa from purchasing HIV/AIDS treatments in the '90s and why Moderna and J&J were able to monopolize COVID vaccines.

During our recent webinar, @tahiramin.bsky.social, @welch.senate.gov, and @emilypisacreta.bsky.social looked back at a 2019 exchange between Sen. John Cornyn and former AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez, in which Gonzalez openly admitted to stockpiling hundreds of patents on Humira.

Pharma dispatched 471 lobbyists *in the first half* of this year to kill Medicare negotiations. That’s political power fueled by monopoly profits. H/t @publiccitizen.bsky.social

NYC Mayor-Elect @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social announces 17 transition committees and >400 appointees. Fantastic to see some brilliant names on the Health Committee, inc former NYC health cmssnr Mary Bassett, the inimitable @drdemetre.bsky.social & @tahiramin.bsky.social from @imakglobal.bsky.social

Honored to join New York City Mayor-elect @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's transition team on the Committee on Health. Looking forward to supporting an administration that is laser-focused on delivering real improvements for New Yorkers. www.cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/...

Jon Stewart and Lina Khan discuss how pharma companies build patent thickets.

Patent reform is a rare bipartisan path to lowering drug prices. I spoke with Nick about why that is and why our team at @imakglobal.bsky.social isn’t fazed by attacks from industry-aligned think tanks and lobbyists.

Great to see Lina Khan teaching folks about Orange Book abuse.

TrumpRx and a most-favored nation policy won’t lower drug prices for patients. We need a government that is willing to stand up to corporate interests and actually become a most favored nation for patients, not pharmaceutical profits. New op-ed for @statnews.com ↓ www.statnews.com/2025/10/24/t...

Looking forward to this conversation about drug prices next week!

Did you RSVP to our webinar? A new national survey reveals bipartisan support for patent system reforms 🗓️ Wednesday, October 22 🕙 10AM ET 🗣️ @tahiramin.bsky.social, @welch.senate.gov, Berwood Yost, @emilypisacreta.bsky.social 🎟️ www.i-mak.org/survey/

JOIN US! On Wednesday, October 22 at 10AM ET we will host a webinar to discuss results from a new national survey revealing bipartisan momentum for patent system reform. Speakers: @tahiramin.bsky.social, @welch.senate.gov, Berwood Yost, @emilypisacreta.bsky.social RSVP! www.i-mak.org/survey/

Gilead signed voluntary licensing deals that will allow six manufacturers to sell generic versions of the HIV treatment lenacapavir in 120 low- and lower-middle-income countries. At first glance, this may look like equity. It’s not. 🧵 www.vox.com/future-perfe...

The IP system is failing to deliver innovation, access, and better health in so many innovative ways…

At what point does combining an existing biologic drug with a form of hyaluronidase to create an injectable formulation become obvious?🧵

A strong case by Lucy Xiaolu Wang for why clinical trial data should be part of the patent examination process. theconversation.com/some-new-dru...

Hyaluronidase (the ingredient Merck added to create the SC version of Keytruda) has been used by plenty of other companies to enable SC delivery. It’s not exactly something that wasn’t known…

Subcutaneous versions of IV drugs often launch right around the time that IV patents expire. What a mysterious phenomenon…

Merck has made billions off patients who take Keytruda. Now, just as its primary patents are about to expire (in 2028) Merck tweaks Keytruda's delivery and gets to restart its monopoly all over again. www.biospace.com/fda/as-exclu...

Merck is launching a patent-protected injectable version of Keytruda before biosimilars of the IV version of Keytruda enter the market. Swipe to see reactions to the recent @nytimes.com story on Merck's product hopping scheme.

“Merck is just the latest in a long line of drug companies that have introduced new versions of their medicines that allow them to keep charging high prices [to patients] even as their original patents expire.” www.seattletimes.com/nation-world...

The patents protecting Keytruda’s key ingredients were filed in 2008 and expire in 2028. Now Merck is changing the way Keytruda is delivered (from an IV to an injection) to effectively restart its monopoly just as it's about to end.

When facts are not on your side, desperation sets in 🙃

My team at @imakglobal.bsky.social has been warning for years that Merck would game the patent system to product hop its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda. Today, the New York Times published an investigation into the company’s tactics. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/h...