A 2023 study found that 78% of drugs associated with new patents weren't actually new drugs but minor modifications. Legal and innovation scholars worldwide often view the European agency as the gold standard for patent quality, and scholars use European drug patents as high-quality benchmarks when evaluating U.S. drug patents. This system requires companies to specify which main drug patent to extend after marketing authorization and before patent expiration. Our findings suggest that integrating regulatory information, including clinical trial data, into patent assessments can indirectly improve patent quality. Doing so can reduce the number of weak drug patents filed more for strategic considerations rather than improving patient health.