The Impact of Patent Linkage on Marketing of Generic Drugs

Abstract

Reasonable prices and innovation are two fundamental goals of health policies. On one hand, governments have the task of attracting FDI in the pharmaceutical sector and on the other hand, they have to control drug prices, quality and availability. There is continuous international pressure on developing countries to extend the scope of pharmaceutical patent protection beyond the TRIPS standard. Patent linkage is one such area which developed countries such as US are pursuing through bilateral or multilateral agreements. It is important to analyse the viability of patent linkage in developing countries. This article analyses the consequences of adopting patent linkage through the experiences of other jurisdictions.