E-DRUG: prizes instead of monopolies as reward for medical innovation
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US presidential candidate John Edwards said this week he supports prizes
instead of monopolies to reward medical innovations. Thanks to Pharmalot
for pointing to these two sources in:
http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/11/john-edwards-turn-to-say-prizes-not-patents/
REUTERS: Edwards would remove some drug patent protections
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071113/pl_nm/usa_politics_edwards_drugs_dc_1;_ylt=Ai0rEgrFAHH1QXXjcJrQeOgb.3QA
By Scott Malone /Tue Nov 13, 3:33 PM ET/
Lebanon, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful John
Edwards said on Tuesday he would consider taking away patent protections
for "breakthrough" drugs in a bid to get them more widely distributed
and lower the cost of health care.
Campaigning in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first nominating
primary, the former North Carolina senator said the move would be part
of his $120 billion plan to provide universal health care for all U.S.
citizens.
"It would also create a different dynamic for drug companies and
particularly for breakthrough drugs in big areas like Alzheimer's,
cancer, etc.," Edwards told a group of medical professionals at
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
"We'd offer a cash prize for the research and development of these
drugs, but they don't get a patent. So we eliminate the monopoly,"
Edwards said as he sought his party's presidential nomination in the
November 2008 election.
"The idea is you've got to give the financial incentive for the
companies to do it but on the flip side you get the products to the
market quicker, available quickly and at a much lower cost," he said.
Pharmaceutical companies sold some $274.9 billion worth of prescription
drugs in the United States in 2006, according to market researcher IMS
Health.
Patent protections are intended to allow inventors a period of time to
sell their wares with limited direct competition, and recoup their
investments in research and development.
Some of the world's top-selling drugs, including Pfizer Inc's
anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor and AstraZeneca Plc's acid reflux
treatment Nexium, which are still under patent, are losing sales to
cheaper rivals that are based on older drugs with similar effects.
AND
WSJ BLOG: Edwards Pushes Prizes Over Patents for Drugs
Posted by Sarah Rubenstein
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/11/14/edwards-pushes-prizes-over-patents-for-drugs/
November 14, 2007, 11:07 am
Presidential hopeful John Edwards is floating an idea that may get the
drug industry’s attention: No more patent protection for breakthrough
medicines.
Instead of patents that hand pharmaceutical companies monopolies for
years, Edwards (pictured) wants to give cash rewards to drug makers that
come up with innovative new medicines for certain key disorders. Anybody
would then be free to make the medicines. He expects the approach would
contain drug prices while still encouraging innovation.
“We’d offer a cash prize for the research and development of these
drugs, but they don’t get a patent. So we eliminate the monopoly,”
Edwards told a group of doctors and other health-care workers at
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, according to
Reuters. “The idea is you’ve got to give the financial incentive for the
companies to do it but on the flip side you get the products to the
market quicker, available quickly and at a much lower cost.”
For more on Edwards’ thoughts on drug patents and other health-cost
issues, take a look at his campaign site
<http://johnedwards.com/issues/health-care/costs/>\.
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Judit Rius Sanjuan
Attorney
judit.rius@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
www.keionline.org / www.cptech.org
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.: +1.202.332.2670, Ext 18 Fax: +1.202.332.2673