But stronger patent protection won&#x27;t improve pricing... competition will.  I think we should <i>reduce</i> extension patents to 5 years, and possibly even have compulsory licensing fees ($10 per day, per prescription for the first year, $8 for the second ... 6... 4... down to $2, then $1) for prescription drug patents starting at 5 years.  And the penalty for an insufficient patent application for a third party to properly apply within the first 8 years would mean a loss of said patent.