Pharmeceutical patents

August 24, 2009
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

In regards to pharmaceutical patents, the preservation of exclusivity rights on medications prevents generic alternatives from entering the market and thus maintains a high price of drug treatments.

This can have significant effects in the developing world as those who are most in need of basic essential medicines are unable to afford such high priced pharmaceuticals.

Another criticism of pharmaceutical patenting relates the rationale of exclusivity rights and subsequent high drug prices as required to make back the vast investment needed to further research and development.

Critics have investigated pharmaceutical budget allocations to address this price justification and revealed that marketing expenditures of new drugs have often doubled the amount that was allocated for required research and development.