Do Pharmaceutical Patents Do More Harm Than Good?

Pharmaceutical patents are the backbone of the modern pharmaceutical industry. They allow drug developers to possess exclusive rights in their inventions for a limited period of time. That exclusivity drives innovation and is critically important to a pharmaceutical company’s return on investment.
Developing a new drug is risky and costly, with recent estimates ranging from $314 million to $2.8 billion. With so much at stake, it is imperative for pharmaceutical companies to secure patents on their drug products to prevent competitors from copying or selling them without permission. A patent safeguards a company’s goal of recouping substantial costs associated with the research, development, and clinical trials of new drugs.
Despite the obvious benefits of pharmaceutical patents, they are also a source of contentious debate concerning issues of unaffordable drug pricing, accessibility to medication, and unfair competition. Many argue that pharmaceutical patents cause more harm than good. For example, given that a patent effectively grants a monopoly over a drug for the life of the patent, patent owners may charge higher prices to secure higher profit, knowing a competing drug or generic version is unable to enter the market during that time. This can be problematic if it causes life-saving medications to become unaffordable.
This article discusses how a pharmaceutical patent works, its role in drug development, and the polarizing impact it has on global health care.