Bloomberg Law
Oct. 26, 2021, 9:31 AM

Drugmakers Undercut Rivals With New Patent Tactic as Law Shifts

Perry Cooper
Perry Cooper
Legal Reporter
Ian Lopez
Ian Lopez
Senior Reporter

Pharmaceutical companies are turning to a fast-moving but rarely used patent office process to undercut their competitors’ intellectual property.

Drugmakers, in a slow but steady trend, are considering post-grant reviews, a Patent and Trademark Office trial proceeding where a wide array of challenges can be brought against rivals’ drug patents.

The number of post-grant reviews challenging standard drug and biologic patents rose from just one in 2014 to 10 in the first half of 2021.

For companies that closely watch their competition, post-grant reviews present an effective way to narrow the number of patents they have to clear to get ...

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