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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge

@imakglobal.bsky.social
3.9K followers 422 following 345 posts

We are a team of lawyers, scientists, and health experts challenging systemic injustice and advocating for health equity in drug development and access.

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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
NYC! Our CEO @tahiramin.bsky.social will be discussing his new book, Pharma Monopoly, with NYU Associate Professor of Law @cmorten.bsky.social and Yale Professor of Medicine @reshmagar.bsky.social on October 19. RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/pharma-mon...
eventbrite.com
Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines
Tahir Amin discusses his new book on how to change the pharmaceutical industry for the better.
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Heartening to see @aoc.bsky.social pushing back on the language of "innovation," a term corporations use to dress up what she rightly called "scammy behavior."
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Pharma companies love to claim that trivial tweaks, like a piece of plastic connecting a cap to an inhaler, are "innovations” because they know they have successfully stripped the U.S. patent system of its ability to distinguish phony “innovations” from real invention.
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
One of the easiest ways to root out patent abuse is to scrutinize every instance a corporation claims they are "innovating.” It’s code for lifecycle management, i.e. squeezing maximum revenue from existing products while minimizing investment.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Lawmakers and the American public agree: drug patent reform is the critical next step in the fight to end America's drug pricing crisis.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY: "Why are we allowing the American people to get the shaft here? Other govts are protecting their citizens from high drug prices but we don't. And we're told constantly, well that's the price of innovation so you're just going to have to suck it up Americans and pay the cost..."
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY: "The American innovation system when it comes to prescription drugs is not going to do American patients much good if they can't afford their drugs."
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY: "Let's be clear, the pharma companies are absolutely gaming the patent system in order to keep prices high...I think there's no doubt about that."
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Sia At The Game @rhpsia.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
NEW: Citing @icij.org's recent #CancerCalculus investigation, U.S. senator questions #Merck over "patent gimmicks" to boost prices for the blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda and delay cheaper generics from entering the market. www.icij.org/investigatio...
icij.org
Senator questions Merck over patent strategy for blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda - ICIJ
In a letter, Sen. Maggie Hassan cited ICIJ's Cancer Calculus investigation and expressed concerns that the pharma giant is boosting profits at the expense of patients.
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Health Justice Initiative @hji-sa.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
📣 Join us 📣 16 July 2026. Book Lounge, Cape Town. Featuring:🎙 @tahiramin.bsky.social from @imakglobal.bsky.social
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Congress didn't finish investigating AbbVie until after the company had spent years fleecing patients behind Humira's patent thicket. Glad at least one senator is willing to take on Merck now rather than letting more patients suffer because they can't afford a $200K cancer drug.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) is on to Merck’s patenting schemes. "If [Merck] won't agree to stop gaming the system this way and artificially pumping up their prices, then we need to take legislative action and meet it head-on."
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
BREAKING: Senator Maggie Hassan is pressing Merck for answers over its patenting tactics around the cancer drug Keytruda. www.hassan.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
@icij.org Chief Reporter Sydney Freedberg: Patents are the biggest structural driver behind pricing…pricing is the biggest obstacle [to patient access].
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
First SCOTUS decision is Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma. Jackson has the unanimous opinion for the court reversing the Federal Circuit in the patent case. Amarin loses. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
supremecourt.gov
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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The Supreme Court's first opinion is a unanimous decision in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin. We will get more opinion(s) and they could come from any justice since Jackson authored this one. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
Held: Amarin has failed to state a claim for active inducement in violation of §271(b), so its complaint cannot withstand Hikma’s motion to
dismiss. The central question is whether Amarin plausibly alleged
that Hikma actively encouraged infringing use, not merely whether
doctors could plausibly read the alleged statements as instructions to
infringe. Pp. 7–14.
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Page One Media @pageonem.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Canada has generic Wegovy. India has generic Wegovy. The U.S. has to wait until 2032. Here's why:
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Join us for two upcoming events on occasion of @tahiramin.bsky.social's new co-authored book, Pharma Monopoly! Details below.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
A new book by @tahiramin.bsky.social and Rohit Malpani is now available in the U.S. Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines examines the origins of outdated patent rules and economic policies that champion monopolies over the public interest. 🔗 www.wiley.com/en-us/Pharma...
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
This slide is from Definium's recent investor call. It shows how they intend to build a monopoly around a derivative of LSD they've dubbed DT120 ODT despite the active ingredient, LSD, being nearly 90 years old.🧵
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Sarah Russo @sarahrusso.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Read an excellent excerpt from @tahiramin.bsky.social’s new book: PHARMA MONOPOLY in @truthdig.com 👇👇👇
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
“The business model of using patents and the language of innovation to justify prolonged patent monopolies that keep knowledge privatized for longer than necessary is endemic across the pharmaceutical industry” @tahiramin.bsky.social @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/05/26/h...
statnews.com
The innovation trap: How pharma weaponizes a word to extend monopolies
“Just because a company invests does not mean it has invented anything novel,” Tahir Amin and Rohit Malpani write in this excerpt from “Pharma Monopoly.”
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines, co-authored with Rohit Malpani, is now on sale in the U.S.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
For @marketwatch.com, our CEO @tahiramin.bsky.social explains why Canada, India, and countries across the world are gaining access to low-cost Ozempic and Wegovy generics years before Americans. www.marketwatch.com/story/canada...
marketwatch.com
Canada and India now have generic Wegovy. Here’s why the U.S. doesn’t.
Over the next year, countries that are home to 40% of the world’s population are set to get access to Ozempic and Wegovy generics that could cost as little as $15 a month.
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
My latest op-ed in @marketwatch.com. 40% of the world will soon have access to Ozempic and Wegovy generics. But not Americans. And we have our Reagan-era drug laws to thank for that. www.marketwatch.com/story/canada...
marketwatch.com
Canada and India now have generic Wegovy. Here’s why the U.S. doesn’t.
Over the next year, countries that are home to 40% of the world’s population are set to get access to Ozempic and Wegovy generics that could cost as little as $15 a month.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Why is the price of the cancer drug Revlimid increasing even though lower-cost generics are on the market? Because Celgene/BMS used a new kind of “pay-for-delay” deal that is harder for regulators to catch: a “limited-volume settlement.”
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
A new report by @sanders.senate.gov found that drug companies that signed drug pricing deals with President Trump have raised the cost of hundreds of medications and launched new ones at an average price of $353,000 a year. ✍️ Berkeley Lovelace Jr., @nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
Drugmakers raised prices on hundreds of drugs despite Trump deals, Senate Democrats report finds
The findings raise questions about whether the administration’s “most favored nation” deals are having a meaningful impact on patients.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
In 2024, Medicare spent $2.1b on Pomalyst, a cancer drug marketed by Bristol Myers Squibb, to treat just 14,324 beneficiaries. Due to this high spend, Medicare added Pomalyst to its 2nd round of drug price negotiations & successfully lowered the price of a 30-day supply from $21,744 to $8,650.🧵
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ICIJ @icij.org · 14/04/2026
The #CancerCalculus explores how Merck, known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, employed aggressive but legal tactics to increase its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda revenues and make it one of the bestselling ever — at the expense of some patients. bit.ly/4coEq2m
icij.org
About the Cancer Calculus investigation - ICIJ
How Merck keeps the price of its lifesaving cancer drug, Keytruda, sky-high, locking out patients and squeezing health care systems worldwide.
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
A team of journalists at the @icij.org and 47 media partners in 37 countries just published a yearlong investigation into how Merck built its global Keytruda monopoly.
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Access to Meds | Public Citizen @pcmedsaccess.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Public Citizen’s Peter Maybarduk told ICIJ that pharma created a system of rules to protect drugmakers and ensure wealthy governments protect them “There is a whole architecture underpinning Keytruda and every patented drug where the US government and Europe go to bat for the industry and its rules”
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Public Eye Suisse @fr.publiceye.ch · 13/04/2026
💊 En Suisse, le médicament anticancéreux #Keytruda a permis au géant pharmaceutique MSD de réaliser un chiffre d'affaires de 31,7 milliards de dollars en 2025. Notre enquête conjointe avec @icij.org montre comment MSD fait du « patent evergreening »➡️ www.publiceye.ch/fr/keytruda
publiceye.ch
Une dose de cet anticancéreux coûte plus cher qu’une once d’or
Le Keytruda du géant étatsunien Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) représente un réel espoir pour les malades du cancer et les oncologues. Il est aussi le cauchemar des assureurs et des budgets de santé publiq...
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Patrick Durisch @dbdurisch.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Thank you @tahiramin.bsky.social @imakglobal.bsky.social for supporting @fr.publiceye.ch in our patent analysis of cancer drug #Keytruda, in conjunction with @icij.org, unveiling MSD's gaming of the patent systems to maintain overinflated prices & delay competition www.publiceye.ch/en/topics/ph...
publiceye.ch
A dose of this cancer drug costs more than an ounce of gold
Keytruda, manufactured by the US pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), offers genuine hope for cancer patients and oncologists alike. However, it’s also a nightmare for insurers and public h...
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Sia At The Game @rhpsia.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
NEW: My news organization @icij.org has released results our latest investigation, revealing how pharmaceutical giant Merck keeps the price of its lifesaving cancer drug Keytruda sky-high, locking out patients & squeezing health care systems worldwide. #CancerCalculus www.icij.org/investigatio...
icij.org
Cancer Calculus - ICIJ
How Merck keeps the price of its blockbuster cancer drug sky-high, shutting out patients and straining health care systems around the world.
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Sia At The Game @rhpsia.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
An excellent thread about Merck’s Keytruda cancer drug —and the @icij.org-led #CancerCalculus investigation:
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Hyo Yoon Kang 강효윤 @hyoyoonkang.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
This is a comprehensive investigation of patent abuse of a Keytruda & the best I've ever seen patent data visualisation of evergreening practices and the resulting thicket until 2046 - another extra twenty years of patent monopoly right h/t @clancyny.bsky.social
icij.org
How Merck uses patents to help maintain Keytruda's exorbitant price - ICIJ
Explore the U.S. patents Merck deploys to stymie competition and keep revenues for its blockbuster cancer drug flowing as long as possible.
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ICIJ @icij.org · 13/04/2026
#CancerCalculus: An ICIJ-led collaboration with 47 media partners in 37 countries reveals how Merck & Co. keeps the price of its lifesaving cancer drug Keytruda sky-high, locking out patients and squeezing health care systems worldwide. www.icij.org/investigatio...
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
How Merck keeps prices for its blockbuster cancer drug sky high Keytruda ✍️ @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/money/...
usatoday.com
How Merck keeps prices for its blockbuster cancer drug sky high
Merck built a wall of patents that keeps a cancer drug's price – and its profits – high. Hospitals often add to the cost for American patients.
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Our team at @imakglobal.bsky.social released a new brief, The Monopoly Extension Menu.🧵 reports.i-mak.org/monopoly-ext...
reports.i-mak.org
The Monopoly Extension Menu | I-MAK
High prescription drug prices in the United States are often explained as an unavoidable consequence of investment in biomedical progress. Yet across therapeutic areas, delayed competition more often ...
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
NEW: Our new brief, The Monopoly Extension Menu, examines three of the most expensive drugs in the Medicare program to show how pharmaceutical companies extend monopolies using a menu of schemes to block competition. 📑 reports.i-mak.org/monopoly-ext...
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
According to a new poll by KFF, Americans are more worried about being able to afford health care than they are about utilities, food and groceries, housing, or gas. Health care costs will affect how they vote in the midterms. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
washingtonpost.com
The cost of health care, not food or rent, is now Americans’ top worry
As politicians prepare their pitches for the midterm elections, a survey finds that about 1 in 3 Americans are “very worried” about health care costs.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Medicare's Drug Price Negotiation Program recently announced the 15 drugs selected for its third round of negotiations. As the program expands, its success is in danger of being undercut by legislators giving drug companies new ways to extend their monopolies. 🧵 www.statnews.com/2026/01/27/m...
statnews.com
15 new drugs added to Medicare price negotiations
The Trump administration released the next 15 drugs subject to Medicare price negotiation, including for the first time treatments administered in doctor offices.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
NEWS: @tahiramin.bsky.social and Rohit Malpani are releasing a new book! 📚 In it, they examine the origins of a global public health system that protects pharmaceutical monopolies instead of the public interest and people’s lives.
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
This is called product hopping.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
We will be closely watching how Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk adapt their patenting schemes to maintain monopoly control and delay affordable options for the GLP-1 market. www.law360.com/classaction/...
law360.com
Drugmakers Fight Multifront Legal Battles Over GLP-1s - Law360
In the wake of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, surging public demand and massive profits have inspired a broad range of drugmaker litigation against competitor...
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
We mourn the loss of David Mitchell, founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs (@p4ad.bsky.social). David showed the world that even when systems feel too big and entrenched to challenge, they are not beyond our collective power.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
In 2025, we won some hard-fought victories in the fight for patent reform. Yet despite this progress, our year-in-review newsletter must focus on something deeply troubling: the hollowing out of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. mailchi.mp/i-mak/how-th...
mailchi.mp
How the USPTO was Hollowed Out in 2025
Despite some hard-fought victories in the fight for patent reform, our year-in-review newsletter must focus on something deeply troubling.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
NEW: Read our account detailing how a small group of policymakers—incl. USPTO Director John Squires, Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan-Stewart, Senators Tillis and Coons, and former USPTO Director Andrei Iancu—pushed industry-backed efforts to hollow out the USPTO. 🔗 www.i-mak.org/2025/12/16/h...
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
👏 NEWS: Teva removes over 200 improper Orange Book patent listings under pressure from the FTC. 🔗 www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/ftc-c...
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
“Patent reform is our best path forward for addressing a root cause of high drug prices in a bipartisan manner.” @tahiramin.bsky.social www.statnews.com/sponsor/2025...
statnews.com
Four in five Americans support patent reform to lower drug prices, new survey finds
A new national survey reveals overwhelming bipartisan support for overhauling the patent system to address soaring prescription drug costs in the United
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