Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge

Pomalyst, Darzalex, and Trelegy Ellipta account for $9.9 billion in annual Medicare spending, ranking among the highest-cost drugs in the program. Why are these drugs so expensive, and why has generic or biosimilar competition failed to materialize? The answer lies in what we call the ‘Monopoly Extension Menu’—a set of overlapping schemes that pharmaceutical companies deploy to exploit the U.S. patent system in order to maintain market exclusivity. reports.i-mak.org/monopoly-e…

Last week, @realtahiramin, @reshmagar, and @cmorten2 sat down to discuss pharmaceutical monopolies and what it will take to end the drug pricing crisis. Thank you to everyone who came out, and to @nyulaw for hosting!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for @EconomicSecProj's conversation with @realtahiramin and @gabyaboulafia on how corporate power is driving the healthcare affordability crisis!

NYC! Join us next week for two free events on pharma monopolies, corporate power, and building a pharmaceutical system that works for the public good!

NYC! Join us for a deep dive into @realtahiramin's new book, Pharma Monopoly, and how corporate power is driving the healthcare affordability crisis. Bibliotheque (54 Mercer Street) Tuesday, October 20 5-7PM Featuring: @realtahiramin and @gabyaboulafia of @EconomicSecProj RSVP: tahir-amin.com/events/monopo…

America is witnessing a surge in psychedelic bioprospecting. According to Psychedelic Alpha, there are 59 clinical trials using psychedelic agents right now, including ten in Phase 3. Americans are likely to see the first FDA-approved versions of psilocybin- and LSD-based treatments within a year. Treatments based on toad venom (5-MeO-DMT) and the West African iboga root (ibogaine) could be up for FDA approval within the coming years. The medicalization and commercialization of naturally occurring and other psychedelic substances is underway—and drug companies are poised to own everything that comes out of it. i-mak.org/2026/10/08/monopol…

In our latest newsletter, we break down how drug companies are using polymorph patents to lock up psychedelic knowledge. i-mak.org/2026/10/08/monopol…

Important victory! Indonesia’s Constitutional Court recently struck down a provision in a law that allowed patent evergreening. “Patent rights should not be understood merely as an economic privilege, but also as rights carrying a dimension of social responsibility,” the court wrote. “Protection of inventors is necessary to sustain innovation, but at the same time, the benefits and impacts of innovation are intertwined with the interests of society.” This is a win for patients and competition. Thank you to our colleagues around the world who continue to fight back against corporate patent abuse and expansionist patent policies. statnews.com/pharmalot/2026/…

NYC! Our CEO @realtahiramin will be discussing his new book, Pharma Monopoly, with NYU Associate Professor of Law @cmorten2 and Yale Professor of Medicine @reshmagar on October 19. Monday, October 19 6-8PM NYU Law Vanderbilt Hall Greenberg Lounge 40 Washington Square South, NYC RSVP here: eventbrite.com/e/pharma-mono…

“The patent system has shifted from being about invention to being about innovation…We live in a world where these big pharmaceutical companies are not doing the inventing. They’re doing these tweaks, these modifications.” - @realtahiramin on the Mostly Economics podcast

What would it look like to have a real counterweight to a pharmaceutical industry that increasingly caters only to those who can pay the most? @realtahiramin and @DeanBaker13 discuss on the @ceprdc Mostly Economics podcast.

Lawmakers and the American public agree: drug patent reform is the critical next step in the fight to end America's drug pricing crisis.