01.10.2011 | Editorial
Pharmaceutical patents, R&D incentives and access to new drugs: new ways of progress at the crossroad
Erschienen in: The European Journal of Health Economics | Ausgabe 5/2011
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Patents are defined as a right granted to innovators by governments for the exclusive production and marketing of an innovation for a limited period of time. Patent owners enjoy a legal monopoly. Patents rights have traditionally been considered a good mechanism to provide incentives to innovate as it allows innovators to obtain monopolistic benefits that compensate the R&D expenditures. In the case of the pharmaceutical industry, as imitation of new drugs is relatively easy and it is difficult to keep the ‘first mover’ advantage in the market, it seems that the patent system is the only mechanism to incentive the innovative activity. …Anzeige