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| home > epc > winter 2001 > arm for the pharmaceutical industry - protecting pharmaceutical brands and the impact of the internet |
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European Pharmaceutical Contractor
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Intellectual property has always been vital to the pharmaceutical industry. The future earnings of new drugs are assessed on the basis that they will have very high profit margins because of their virtual monopoly on the market until the patent expires. But once the 20-year patent expires, pharmaceutical companies increasingly rely on their brands to sustain sales on their blockbusting drugs.
The growth of the Internet is further complicating this issue. Whilst it offers opportunities to develop brands in new ways online, it also harbours many dangers for companies, particularly in controversial industries such as pharmaceuticals.
Pharmaceutical companies have long held the view that patents equal profits. Their products require vast investment in research and development, as well as extensive and rigorous testing, before they reach the market. But, given the fact that once a drug is approved, a well-drafted patent gives a pharmaceutical company 20 years of uninterrupted monopoly in which to sell and market a drug, pharmaceutical giants have traditionally paid more attention to their patent portfolio than to their trade marks and brands. GlaxoSmithKline's ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac) is a good case in point. Zantac is an anti-ulcer drug for which Glaxo obtained a patent. To get an idea of the potential value of the patent, this monopoly was worth approximately two to three million pounds in profits to Glaxo for every single day that it lasted.
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