Patents and the price of medical drugs

The patent protection for pharmaceutical drugs has increased substantially in recent years. What that means for consumers is higher prices for an extended period.


Risk Of Infringement

Drug patents were initially put into place to offset drug manufacturers costs and recoup their investments for research, clinical testing, packaging and marketing. By patenting a drug a company is guaranteed they will have no completion for their drug by other companies offering a generic of that drug until the patent expires.

In the 1980’s the length of patents were 15 years. Compare that to today’s length of 25 years, with varying periods regularly granted to pharmaceutical companies for further patents for things like new uses, changes in dosages and color or markings; and you have quite an extended monopoly.

Drug companies know that when their patent is over and generics of their product is allowed on the market, their prices must also come down, so they will do everything within their power to extend their patents. The expiration of a patent removes the monopoly of the patent holder, however, a new drug with significant changes to the compound could be patented.

On the other hand, a generic drug is produced and distributed without patent protection. A generic drug may still have a patent on the formulation but not its active ingredients. Generic drugs must contain the same active ingredients as the original to avoid more clinical trials. According to the FDA, generics are identical or within an acceptable bio equivalent range of the original name brand. When generic products become available, prices are substantially reduced for both the original name brand product as well as the generic because of the competition factor.

Patent lifetimes differ from country to country. According to Elaine Feuer, the author of “Innocent Casualties”, “Because the U.S. is the only major industrialized nation that does not regulate prices or profits of drug companies, prescription drugs generally cost 25% to 40% more than other countries.” In other words, drug companies rely on American sales to boost their profits while the same products are sold worldwide at cheaper prices. In fact, for many drugs, more than half of the revenue is from the United States alone.

Researching Only Profitable Substances

Even though an herb may treat or sometimes cure a disease, drug companies may not desire to research and market it. This is because, herbs, by their very nature cannot be patented. Since the profitability of herbs, vitamins and minerals does not exist, the public may remain largely ignorant of their benefits.

Although companies cannot patent natural plants in their whole form, they can patent the individual ingredients of plants. This is a laborious process since the plants components must be broken down and active ingredients must be isolated. At that point a drug company can say, they have “discovered” a new ingredient.

This system, although it would be profitable for the drug companies, has a downside. Many times an active ingredient does not work as well as the entire plant would have. Take the case of St. John’s Wart; the entire plant kills the AIDS virus in the test tube, while hypericum, the isolated ingredient does not.

As author Gary Null, of “AIDS: A Second Opinion” writes, “One report published in Fact Magazine speculates that the principle reason vitamin C is not commonly prescribed is that it is not as profitable as those syrups and pills your doctor dispenses.”

Patients and Bio Piracy

In 1993, the University of Mississippi Medical Center had a patent issued to them by the United States Patent Office on the use of turmeric for healing. Turmeric had been used for centuries in India as part of the traditional practices of Ayurvedic medicine. The overseas patenting of turmeric and products of the neem tree caused controversy in India as well as other nations. After it was proven that records had existed for the use of turmeric for centuries, the U.S. Patient and Trademark Office canceled its patient. This makes wonder just how far the drug companies will go to turn a profit.


By  Renee Rotto