WASHINGTON (October 20, 2025) — Today, the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) Executive Director Frank Cullen released the following statement regarding a new report from the Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge (I-MAK) on patent reform and drug pricing.
“I-MAK’s latest report — based only on survey data — makes sweeping claims about how Americans attribute high drug costs to patents, but these conclusions should be viewed with scrutiny. Policymakers ought to be aware that I-MAK’s reports have suffered from serious errors in the past — and keep that unreliability in mind before making any changes that would impact the 63 million Americans whose jobs rely on IP-intensive industries.
“Independent experts and policymakers have previously questioned I-MAK’s analyses, noting inconsistencies between its patent counts and publicly available data from the FDA’s Orange Book and court filings. In several instances, I-MAK’s figures could not be independently replicated. The organization also withholds much of the underlying data behind its conclusions, limiting transparency and preventing meaningful review.
“I-MAK has previously claimed that so-called patent thickets delay generic entry and therefore drive up drug costs. However, a USPTO study indicates no correlation between the total number of patents for a product and the length of exclusivity. It also found that simple patent counts cannot be used to accurately assess the patent landscape nor predict when a generic can or will enter the market.
“Contrary to I-MAK’s recent findings, a 2024 Morning Consult survey found that more than two-thirds of registered voters across the political spectrum agree that lawmakers must uphold strong intellectual property protections to promote innovation and competition.
“C4IP urges lawmakers, the public, and the media to approach I-MAK’s report with caution and to rely instead on comprehensive, verifiable data when evaluating patent policy.
“For more information, visit www.I-MAKexposed.com.”
About Council for Innovation Promotion: The Council for Innovation Promotion is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective intellectual property rights that drive innovation, boost economic competitiveness, and improve lives everywhere.