Proper implementation of lifecycle management strategies is important for profit maximization in the pharmaceutical industry. This article investigates the ownership of follow-on patents for approved drugs in the USA. We discover that a considerable number of follow-on patents are originally developed by, and issued to, external partners and not drug sponsors. We also find that the use of follow-on patents is more common in some therapeutic areas than in others. Based on these findings, we develop lifecycle strategies to effectively manage and use external patents in open innovation projects. These strategies include proper license contract design, post-FDA-approval acquisition and open innovation.

生命周期管理策略的正确实施对于制药行业的利润最大化非常重要。本文调查了美国批准药物后续专利的所有权。我们发现，相当多的后续专利最初是由外部合作伙伴而非药物赞助商开发和颁发的。我们还发现，后续专利的使用在某些治疗领域比在其他领域更为普遍。基于这些发现，我们制定了生命周期战略，以在开放式创新项目中有效管理和使用外部专利。这些策略包括适当的许可合同设计、FDA 批准后的收购和开放式创新。