The Tragedy Caused by Reliance on the Patent System to Develop New Drugs

Millions of lives could be saved if drug companies weren't limited by a patent model that dates back to the 15th century. The problem is that when the patent on a drug runs out, drug prices plummet, creating a patent “cliff” that leaves pharma companies with little incentive to repurpose them for new uses. Off-patent drugs that have successfully completed Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials for safety and efficacy are, in principle, available for reformulation to treat new diseases. But companies have no incentive to do this if the off-patent drug has similar efficacy to the reformulated drug, which means it’s not possible to recover the cost of the clinical trials proving efficacy. 

That's why governments, health insurers and charities need to find a different way to incentivise drug development. A new system is needed, one that might seem counterintuitive. If you want to incentivise somebody, you give them a prize. Crowd Funded Cures want to petition for the establishment of "pay for success" contracts as an alternative to the patent system, in which a drug company is given a premium for repurposing an off-patent treatment in Phase 3 clinical trials. This "pay for success" system can lead to billions of dollars in healthcare cost savings because it can be 100 times less costly and 10 times faster to repurpose off-patent drugs than patent-centric drug development because it is possible to rely on existing safety data. 

In the meantime, please sign the petition to ask governments, insurers and charities to back this new, open-source approach to incentivise the development of faster, safer, cheaper and more effective treatments - and cures - for patients, without reliance on patents.