In: Economics
CASE: Patents for Pharmaceutical Companies. What impacts can we expect from extended life of patents for pharmaceutical companies? Will the consumers be hurt by this?
A patent for Pharmaceutical company gives him a monopoly over that product. It means as long as the company holds the patent the company will be the sole provider of those medications in the market and no other company can copy, sell or produce that particular medicine without the permission of the patent holder company. This arrangement is done by the government to allow the patent holder to earn some benefits from the invention he has done. This increases the price of the patented product and only a few people can actually afford it at the high prices.
It is generally seen that as the patent period ends the mass production of that medicine starts and the price comes down drastically. Allowing more and more people to use the medication and benefit from it. If the patent life is extended the Pharmaceutical companies will have more monopoly on the product and they will earn huge margins for an extended period at the cost of the consumer and they will have to pay a higher price for the product they are buying.