@article{42071,
      recid = {42071},
      author = {Ho, Cynthia M.},
      title = {Drugged Out : How Cognitive Bias Hurts Drug Innovation},
      pages = {90 pages},
      abstract = {In recent years, legal scholars have begun to identify and  evaluate how the cognitive biases held by all individuals  impact law and policy. Thus far, however, scholars have not  recognized the existence or impact of biases that impact  pharmaceutical innovation and patent policy. This Article  fills that gap at a key juncture. Currently, the industry  mostly produces drugs that do not provide significant  clinical benefits over existing drugs. Further, even the  number of new drugs produced every year is modest compared  with exponentially increasing pharmaceutical expenditures.   This Article shows that there are significant cognitive  biases that play a key, but thus far unrecognized, role in  promoting modest innovation. In particular, there are views  of pharmaceutical innovation and patent policy that have  been broadly accepted amongst not only the industry, but by  policy makers and some scholars that are not soundly  supported. These views, referred to as “schemas,” are  perpetuated because of well-established cognitive biases  explained in the Article. Recognizing these schemas is  critical because scholars and policy makers are vulnerable  to accept these mistaken assumptions as fact, and create  and recommend misguided policies. Although these schemas  revealed here are broadly consistent with cognitive science  studies, this is the first Article to not only document  schemas in the realm of pharmaceutical innovation, but also  show how they are perpetuated despite contrary evidence.  After revealing these schemas, this Article proposes  concrete steps to counteract them, including possible steps  to modify patent policy in light of this new  understanding.},
      url = {http://tind.wipo.int/record/42071},
}