3 ms·
It is funny that pharma is always brought up as an example for industries where patents "obviously" make sense. Pharma is in fact a pretty good example why pate
by cycomanic 3y ago
It is funny that pharma is always brought up as an example for industries where patents "obviously" make sense. Pharma is in fact a pretty good example why patents don't make sense and hinder innovation.
Historically, before the homogenization of IP law, pharmaceuticals had different patent protection in different countries, ranging from very strong (the US), to weak (most of Europe) to excluded (Switzerland). The most successful and innovative pharma companies who were outspending everyone else on R&D were from Switzerland. Patentability of pharmaceuticals suddenly gave US companies a big boost and was really a lobbying success, so they managed to gain strong market positions without much innovation.
- brutusborn 3y agoDo you have a link to an article or book that covers this? I’m trying to workout why Swiss companies would outspend the rest, is it that patents incentivise sitting on your laurels? And did drugs require the huge testing they need now?
- JamesBarney 3y agoThe cost of FDA approval was at least an order of magnitude lower back then. Why would anyone spend a billion dollars getting a drug FDA approved if after they do anyone else can manufacturer it?
- jsmith45 3y agoYou still need FDA approval to develop a generic. The FDA will not approvea generic unless both the patents and other legal exclusivities (I think the FDA sometimes grants exclusivity beyonbd the end of the patent). If patents were abolished, the FDA could instead be authorized to blanket grant such exclusivity to genuinely new drugs, with pretty much the same effect as patents.