How to Access the Evergreen Drug Patent Database
Evergreening is a strategy used by pharmaceutical companies to extend the life of their drug patents and monopoly periods by obtaining additional protections, often based on minor modifications.
The Center for Innovation at UC Law SF’ searchable database reports drug patents and drug patent extensions by pharmaceutical companies from 2005 to 2018 on brand-name drugs, listed in the Federal Drug Administration’s Orange Book, that may have been taken to prolong patents for trivial reasons. The Evergreen Drug Patent Search is based on research by Professor Robin Feldman that was published in the Oxford Journal of Law and the Biosciences. It is provided to the public for free through the Center for Innovation.
The Center for Innovation hopes that policymakers and other stakeholders use this information to identify potential problems with evergreening and develop new solutions so that anyone and everyone can access the life-saving medication that they need.