Why pharmaceutical companies are allowed to patent their drugs
A patent is a device that is legal and allows an inventor to market exclusively on a new medication or invention. The Companies are allowed to patent their drugs because it offers them a monopoly for a term of twenty years (Duetsch, 1970). When a manufacturing Company initially comes up with a new drug to be used for a certain disease condition, it is sold under a brand name prescribed by clinicians. It is covered under the protection of a patent and this means that it is only that pharmaceutical Company has the permission to manufacture market and make profit out of it. The manufacturing Company must apply for a patent before the clinical trial in order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the drug. This process takes a long time and therefore the effective patent period is between seven to twelve years after the drug has eventually received approval. After the expiry of the patent, the drug can then be manufactured by any other Company and they have a right to sell it too. These drugs are then referred to as generics and they have to be the same as the branded ones in terms of usage, efficacy, safety and administration. When the generic drug enters the market, it means that the patent holder monopoly is removed. This brings in competition in the market and this means a significant drop in the cost of drugs. This also results in making sure that the important and life-saving drugs get to the general population at affordable prices. The patent also allows the inventors prevention from others who would commercially use ideas without permission when the patent is still valid (Duetsch, 1970).
Research in the Universities
The pharmaceutical industry would work more efficiently if all basic research would be moved to universities from private laboratories. This is because medicines are highly valuable especially in saving lives and improving the health of people. If basic research from private laboratories were moved to the universities, then the drugs produced would be of higher quality because they will all combine their knowledge. It would be a good idea because research would be conducted widely to ensure that good ideas are shared to produce good results (Jakkrit, 2010). This would also save a lot of money that would have otherwise gone to the private laboratories. It would also ensure that the drugs would take less time to be produced because the research is more innovative. This therefore prevents risks and expenses which has made research in pharmaceutical industries to slow down. It is clear that pharmaceutical firms spend a lot of money to get the drug in the market but the cost of manufacturing and selling is very low. This is because the scale of expenditure that is required to get a new drug to the market does not block the largest firms. Moving the research to the universities will help the pharmaceutical industry to raise their cost per unit from falling. This is because the cost per unit of a pharmaceutical firm tends to fall the more it produces. Universities will help in developing fresh understanding of physiological processes and natural substances. This would be a good idea to apply knowledge rather than only directing specifically at the invention or development of a product (Jakkrit, 2010).
References
Duetsch, L. L. (1970). Research and development, market power, and patent policy in ethical drugs.
Jakkrit, K. (2010). Patent rights in pharmaceuticals in developing countries: Major challenges for the future. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
