Paper #1752

Título:

Common ownership in the US pharmaceutical industry: A network analysis

Autores:

Albert Banal-Estañol, Melissa Newham y Jo Seldeslachts

Data:

Octubre 2020

Resumen:

We investigate patterns in common ownership networks between firms that are active in the US pharmaceutical industry for the period 2004-2014. Our main findings are that "brand firms" -i.e. firms that have R&D capabilities and launch new drugs- exhibit relatively dense common ownership networks with each other that further increase significantly in density over time, whereas the network of "generic firms" -i.e. firms that primarily specialize in developing and launching generic drugs- is much sparser and stays that way over the span of our sample. Finally, when considering the common ownership links between brands firms, on the one hand, and generic firms, on the other, we find that brand firms have become more connected to generic firms over time. We discuss the potential antitrust implications of these findings.

Palabras clave:

common ownership networks, pharmaceutical companies, competition, innovation

Códigos JEL:

G23, K21, L11, L41, L65

Área de investigación:

Economía de la Empresa y Organización Industrial

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