The Innovation/Access Tradeoff, Part 1000

Abstract From the perspective of intellectual property (IP) and antitrust law, the overriding question in the pharmaceutical industry is how to navigate the tradeoff between innovation and access. It is into this debate that William Feldman steps with his important article adapted from recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Dr. Feldman discusses an array of anticompetitive behavior. In this response piece, I focus on “patent thickets” and “product hopping” to emphasize how they often harm consumers without any innovation justification and how they can be addressed.