The U.S. leads the world in biopharmaceutical innovation. More new medicines are launched here than anywhere else, and 90% of prescriptions today are for generic medications. These real-life benefits are the result of a balanced intellectual property (IP) system and robust patent protections.
How do American patients benefit from biopharmaceutical innovation?
Americans benefit from:
- The world’s earliest and broadest access to new medicines
- A competitive generic market that delivers affordable treatments
- Longer, healthier lives – innovative medicines drove 35% of life expectancy gains from 1990 to 2015
Johnson & Johnson’s 2025 Issue Brief, America’s intellectual property system: The backbone of access to critical medicines, details the need for balanced IP rights to promote innovation, competition and patient access.
How long do patents really last in the U.S.?
In the United States, patents provide innovators with a limited term of protection for inventions, which is generally 20 years from filing. But because of the time it takes to develop and gain approval for new medicines, the average time an approved drug is protected in the market is just 14 years.
Patients benefit from improvements to existing medications and the development of additional drugs in an established class, often referred to as continued innovation. Post-market research expands the use and effectiveness of medications. For example, nearly 65% of oncology drugs approved from 2008 to 2018 had further treatment indications discovered after approval. These follow-on innovations, which can include new formulations, dosing regimens or entirely new uses for existing medicines, extend the benefits of scientific discovery to more patients and conditions.
IP protections enable the U.S. to compete with other nations on the global stage and drive American economic success. The biopharmaceutical industry employs more than one million Americans and drove an estimated $1.65 trillion in economic impact in 2022 when accounting for direct, indirect, and induced effects.
What are the right policies to help bolster the U.S. intellectual property system?
Americans deserve policies that foster healthier, more vibrant lives because of increased access to medication that promotes innovation and competition. Johnson & Johnson is committed to supporting policies that:
- Stand against initiatives that erode patent protections and weaken innovation incentives.
- Strengthen the U.S. innovation ecosystem by protecting IP policies that have proven to deliver for patients and society.
- Focus reform efforts on true cost drivers for patients, included continued patient cost exposure and exploitation of the drug supply chain by middlemen.
- Affirm that robust IP policies support competitiveness, improve health outcomes and safeguard America’s role as the global leader in medical innovation.
The brief, America’s intellectual property system: The backbone of access to critical medicines, offers data and insights to help educate policymakers and stakeholders on the vital nature of a balanced IP system in the U.S.
© Johnson & Johnson and its affiliates 2025 11/25 cp-540533v1