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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

Arm for the Pharmaceutical Industry - Protecting Pharmaceutical Brands and the Impact of the Internet

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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By Clarke Graham, Partner at Marks & Clerk, London

Clarke Graham graduated with a degree in Law from the University of Sydney. He worked with a firm of patent and trade mark attorneys in Australia before moving to London, later joining Marks & Clerk where he became a Partner in 1988. He opened the firm's office in Alicante. He has worked closely with clients and their design and advertising consultants in creating and administering effective and enforceable trade mark portfolios.

Clarke is also a specialist in international trade mark searching, protection and enforcement. He teaches on the University of Alicante's Masters Degree course in Intellectual Property. He is also a member of both ECTA and INTA.

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