Which pharmaceutical drugs have the most patents?

This chart shows the pharmaceutical drugs with the greatest number of patents still in force.

The number of patents covering a drug can be indicative of the value of a drug — more valuable drugs justify the substantial expense of building and maintaining large patent portfolios — but they can also be indicative of a company's legal or R&D acumen.

One clear way to keep competitors at bay is to surround key drugs with a web of strong patents, making it unlikely there will be any way to work around patents or invalidate a sufficient number of them. A large patent portfolio can also indicate strong, innovation-oriented R&D, with a focus on securing IP.

The drugs with the most unexpired patents are:

• AUVELITY
• VASCEPA
• IMBRUVICA
• GALAFOLD
• ABILIFY MYCITE KIT
• EVZIO
• EVZIO (AUTOINJECTOR)
• AUVI-Q
• AIRDUO DIGIHALER
• XIFAXAN