I don’t mean to imply that I have a good grasp on the biases, just that they are surprising. The particular effect with patents happened with SSRIs, that they fell apart as their patents expired; I probably imply too much generality.
Drug companies study each others’ drugs all the time, because FDA approval of a particular drug requires the claim that it is better, at least for some population. A typical phase 3 study compares the company’s own drug, a similar recent drug, and the standard treatment that the two drugs are trying to displace.
Maybe the bias there is in expecting that the competitor’s drug is similar to their own (therefore also good), and that it’s newer than the standard treatment (and so more advanced and better).
That surprises me too. Do you have a citation for it?
In fact, I’m surprised that drug companies do studies on each other’s drugs often enough that the effect can be discerned.
I don’t mean to imply that I have a good grasp on the biases, just that they are surprising. The particular effect with patents happened with SSRIs, that they fell apart as their patents expired; I probably imply too much generality.
Drug companies study each others’ drugs all the time, because FDA approval of a particular drug requires the claim that it is better, at least for some population. A typical phase 3 study compares the company’s own drug, a similar recent drug, and the standard treatment that the two drugs are trying to displace.
Maybe the bias there is in expecting that the competitor’s drug is similar to their own (therefore also good), and that it’s newer than the standard treatment (and so more advanced and better).