Not Another Drug! Antitrust for Drug and Other Innovations

Antitrust, Vol. 30, No. 1, Fall 2015

8 Pages Posted: 17 Jan 2016

See all articles by Richard Gilbert

Richard Gilbert

University of California, Berkeley

Date Written: November 3, 2015

Abstract

A number of antitrust cases have challenged firm conduct associated with the introduction of a new product. Several are in the pharmaceutical industry and have earned the moniker of “product hopping.” Other cases involve the design of interfaces that defeat interoperability and the supply of integrated products that curtail demand for one or more of the integrated components. I propose a framework to compare the costs and benefits of single-firm conduct involving innovation and offer two suggestions for “almost safe” harbors. One is a transition to a new product that is accomplished without constraining consumer choices among existing products. The second “almost safe” harbor is for the development of an improved product, interface or design that impacts the supply of complementary products or services, provided that these complements do not offer a pathway for competition that would undermine monopoly power.

Keywords: monopolization, patents, antitrust

JEL Classification: K00, K21, L12

Suggested Citation

Gilbert, Richard, Not Another Drug! Antitrust for Drug and Other Innovations (November 3, 2015). Antitrust, Vol. 30, No. 1, Fall 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2712398

Richard Gilbert (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley ( email )

Department of Economics
530 Evans Hall #3880
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States
510 339 6493 (Phone)

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