Patent Expiration Dates – Oncology Drugs

Patents are important in the development of oncology drugs.  They allow the maker of the drug to have exclusivity and hence charge high prices to recoup its investments.  Once a patent expires other companies can sell the medicine; this almost always leads to a drop in price.  Patents are granted by a legal authority, usually by a national government or super-region economic area.  The big pharmaceutical companies are global in scope, so they usually apply for patents in more than one jurisdiction.  The most important patents are those given in the US and the European Union.  In the US the usual pattern is that the inventor receive a patent for 20 years after submission.  Sometimes legal proceedings and court rulings make this time longer or shorter.

Here are some expected dates of US patent expiration for cancer drugs approved in the past 20 years:

Imatinib – June 2022

Fulvestrant – Jan 2021

Ibritumomab – expired

Bortezomib – 2022

Gefitinib – expired

Bevacizumab – expired

Erlotinib – expired

Histrelin – June 2026

Oxaliplatin – expired

Pemetrexed – May 2022

Capecitabine – expired

Exemestane – expired

Lenalidomide – expired

Nelarabine – expired

Sorafenib – expired

Dasatinib – Oct 2025

Sunitinib – Feb 2021

Lapatinib – Nov 2021

Nilotinib – July 2023

Bendamustine – Jan 2026

Degarelix – May 2021

Fludarabine Phosphate – expired

Cetuximab – expired

Pazopanib – Oct 2023

Pralatrexate – May 2025

Romidepsin – Aug 2021

Cabazitaxel – Mar 2021

Crizotinib – Nov 2026

Ruxolitinib – Dec 2027

Vandetanib – Oct 2023

Vemurafenib – Jun 2029

Axitinib – May 2028

Bosutinib – Nov 2026

Cabozantinib – Sept 2024

Ponatinib – Dec 2026

Afatinib – expired

Dabrafenib – Jan 2030

 

Ibrutinib – Dec 2026

Trametinib – Sept 2025

Idelalisib – Apr 2021

Regorafenib – July 2024