Denise Ajiri and Antonio Cucho Gamboa, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ; How Merck uses patents to help maintain Keytruda’s exorbitant price
"Merck’s original patents for Keytruda are set to expire in 2028. But Merck, using a strategy known as “evergreening,” has filed hundreds of additional patents that could protect Keytruda’s dominance well beyond that year.
ICIJ analyzed 180 U.S. patent applications related to Keytruda, provided by the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), a nonprofit that examines inequities in the patent system. These were linked to 1,032 additional patent filings around the world tied to the drug. From this universe, ICIJ identified active U.S. patents that illustrate Merck’s strategy of maintaining market exclusivity.
Patents can have different status, including active, pending, abandoned, expired, or others. Explore Merck’s active U.S. Keytruda patents below."
