The life cycle of a drug Once the drug is approved for sale,the drug company has a temporary legal monopoly protected by a patent(17 years in the US) This is the company's chance to recoup the millions of dollars spent on testing After that time is up,other companies can produce the same drug cheaply and profits decrease sharply Bhattacharya,Hyde and Tu-HealthEconomicsBhattacharya, Hyde and Tu – Health Economics The life cycle of a drug  Once the drug is approved for sale, the drug company has a temporary legal monopoly protected by a patent (17 years in the US)  This is the company’s chance to recoup the millions of dollars spent on testing  After that time is up, other companies can produce the same drug cheaply and profits decrease sharply