title: Patent reform in the US: what's at stake for pharmaceutical innovation?
abstract: The current patent landscape in the US has not undergone major legislative reform since 1952. The US Senate version of the most recently proposed patent reform legislation puts forward a number of rule changes that could impact the pharmaceutical industry. Among the bill's major provisions are moving to a first-to-file system, changes to post-grant review and reexamination procedures, and damages reform. Various industries with a stake in patent reform have responded to the proposed changes. The need for balanced reform makes the stakes particularly high for the pharmaceutical industry which must invest a significant amount of time and money in the research and development process in exchange for already abbreviated patent lifetimes due to the lengthy clinical trial process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, Director of Development, University Libraries, The University of Tennessee, 612 John C. Hodges Library, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA. yancey@tennessee.edu
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yancey
authors.forename: Charles Neal
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D015195:Drug Design; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010330:Patents as Topic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000191:economics; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations