Working to Lower Drug Costs by Challenging Questionable Patents

Through the Coalition for Affordable Drugs, a company they formed this year, Mr. Bass and Mr. Spangenberg identify pharmaceutical patents that they consider weak or abusive. Then they request that a unit of the United States Patent and Trademark Office review the legitimacy of the patents.

By mid-November, the firm had filed 33 requests for patent reviews, targeting 13 drugs from a dozen companies.

At the same time, on behalf of themselves and their investors, Mr. Bass and Mr. Spangenberg are short-sellers of shares in companies whose patents they consider vulnerable. They also buy stock in companies whose patents, they believe, reflect true innovation.