Pharmaceutical industry intellectual property rights

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are an important asset for the pharmaceutical industry. Most successful companies have suites of patents to protect their IPRs. The effect of IPR protection is amply demonstrated by the Prozac case. Fluoxetine (Prozac, Eli Lilly) was a blockbuster drug for many years. During... 

Intellectual property rights are the most sensitive interface between a fine-chemical company and its customer. This is particularly the case if the latter is a pharmaceutical company. Most of the profits of the industry derive from drugs protected by patents. Any dissipation or misuse of IP, on either the product or the manufacturing process, can cause serious damage. The company, its board, executives, and employees may be held liable. It is, therefore, imperative that strict procedures for safeguarding the IP are put in place, such as the following ... 

Okay, M. LaingR. (ZOOS) Pharmaceutical Tariffs What is theireffect on prices, protection of local industry and revenue generation Paper prepared for The Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health. Available from http //www.who.int/inteUectualproperty/studies/TariffsOnEssentialMedictnes. pdf [accessed 19 Febraary 2015]. 

Rai, R.K. (2009) Effect of the TRIPS-mandated intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical industry, The Journal of World Intellectual Property, 11 (5-6), 404-31. 

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