To keep drug prices high, pharma has been piling up the patents

Thickets To keep drug prices high, pharma has been piling up the patents Add-on patents have increased drug patent periods from two years to over six.

0 Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav The cost of healthcare in general is a debilitating, pre-existing condition for Americans. But the high prices of prescription drugs usually stand out as a pain point. While there are many insidious reasons why Americans pay more—often far more—for their medicines than people in peer countries, exploitation of the US patent system is an obvious one.