Iain Cockburn specializes in competition and innovation in the life sciences, software, and information technology industries. He has provided expert testimony in intellectual property, breach of contract, product misrepresentation, and antitrust matters, addressing class certification, merits, and damages issues. Professor Cockburn’s expert testimony has covered a range of industries, including robotics, smartphones, medical devices, diagnostic testing, online auctions, cloud computing services, and oil well equipment. He has particular expertise in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
On pharmaceutical matters, Professor Cockburn’s expert work has covered topics that include pricing, the impact of marketing on prescribing, off-label promotion, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, competition between brand and generic products, reasonable royalties, and valuation issues associated with licensing and collaboration agreements.
The author or co-author of multiple book chapters, Professor Cockburn has also published articles in leading journals, including the American Economic Review, the RAND Journal of Economics, and Health Affairs. A frequent speaker on intellectual property and business strategy topics, he has presented his research at numerous academic conferences, and in policy briefings to government agencies in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Professor Cockburn is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Professor Cockburn has been honored with several awards for teaching and research excellence. He is the chair of the Strategy & Innovation Department at Boston University. Prior to joining the faculty of Boston University, he served as the VanDusen Professor of Business Administration in the Faculty of Commerce at the University of British Columbia. He has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard University and the MIT Sloan School of Management.
- “Spikes in Drug Prices: Outrageous or Legitimate?,” Health Care and Pharmaceuticals Committee, American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, 29 June 2017
