Background: China has recently introduced patent term buchang (PTB) for new drugs. This study presents a systematic profile for China’s PTB, European SPC, and the U.S. PTE for new drug protection. Methods: Drug Development Time Period (DDTP) index and Final Drug Patent Protection Term (FDPPT) were calculated using predefined equations. Results: Our study showed the average PTB, SPC, and PTE for new drugs were 3.56, 4.11, and 2.82 years, respectively. Consequently, the average FDPPT for these regions reached 11.20, 14.32, and 13.19 years, respectively. Our results revealed that the average DDTP index for these new drugs was 9.79 years in Europe, 12.36 years in China, and 10.05 years in the US. For the same drugs, the SPC term in Europe was 1.55 years longer than the PTE in the United States. The FDPPT in Europe was an average of 0.54 years longer than that in the US. Conclusions: Our study characterizes China’s PTB profile for the first time and proposes a novel methodology-the DDTP index concept and its quartile range method-for investigating patent extension protection. The study shows that for new drugs with a DDTP index between 6 and 10 years, patent protection in Europe is substantially longer than in China and the US. For those drugs with an index between 10 and 15 years, Europe still offers the longest protection period (Avg. 13.41 years), while China has the shortest (Avg. 11.86 years); the US falls in the middle (Avg. 12.83 years). However, for drugs with a DDTP index above 10 years, the relative advantage of patent term extension in Europe diminishes and eventually disappears as the index increases.
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