Controversies on Global Marketing of Life Saving Drugs
Acronyms
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
TRIPS
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
WTO
World Trade Organization
WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organization
Key terms
Life-Saving drugs are the drugs that are widely accepted by the scientific community curing or reducing the effects of illnesses that if left untreated would result in death of the patient. HIV, Tumors, and Leukemia are some examples of lives threatening diseases.
Compulsory licensing: When a government issues a license to companies or individuals that are not the patent owners to manufacture, use, sell or import a product under patent protection without the consent of the patent holder.
Parallel Imports: When a product manufactured legally overseas is imported by another country without the consent of the patent holder.
Bolar exception: This allows manufacturers of generic drugs to use a patented invention to obtain marketing approval—e.g. from public health authorities—without the permission of the patent owner and before the patent expires.
Introduction
The introduction of patents in the pharmaceutical industry has resulted in a wide controversy and divisions between the developed and developing countries. The developing countries which are characterized by low incomes usually cannot afford the prices offered by drug manufacturers in the developed countries. Access to the drugs for the poor and the afflicted is therefore severely restricted. However CIPLA and other firms particularly in India are offering cheap generic drugs at much lower prices. The discussion and suggestions bellow provides the approaches that can be utilized to increase access for the drugs and also enable firms to operate profitably in the developed as well as the developing countries markets.
2
Literature review
Patents provide legal protection for inventors of significantly different products or processes in order to prevent other people from making use of their ideas without their
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
TRIPS
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
WTO
World Trade Organization
WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organization
Key terms
Life-Saving drugs are the drugs that are widely accepted by the scientific community curing or reducing the effects of illnesses that if left untreated would result in death of the patient. HIV, Tumors, and Leukemia are some examples of lives threatening diseases.
Compulsory licensing: When a government issues a license to companies or individuals that are not the patent owners to manufacture, use, sell or import a product under patent protection without the consent of the patent holder.
Parallel Imports: When a product manufactured legally overseas is imported by another country without the consent of the patent holder.
Bolar exception: This allows manufacturers of generic drugs to use a patented invention to obtain marketing approval—e.g. from public health authorities—without the permission of the patent owner and before the patent expires.
Introduction
The introduction of patents in the pharmaceutical industry has resulted in a wide controversy and divisions between the developed and developing countries. The developing countries which are characterized by low incomes usually cannot afford the prices offered by drug manufacturers in the developed countries. Access to the drugs for the poor and the afflicted is therefore severely restricted. However CIPLA and other firms particularly in India are offering cheap generic drugs at much lower prices. The discussion and suggestions bellow provides the approaches that can be utilized to increase access for the drugs and also enable firms to operate profitably in the developed as well as the developing countries markets.
2
Literature review
Patents provide legal protection for inventors of significantly different products or processes in order to prevent other people from making use of their ideas without their