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PhRMA argues for continued patent incentives
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Patent protection that encourages pharmaceutical research is essential for medicinal discovery to continue to benefit patients, according to testimony given by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America last week.
Bruce Kuhlik, senior vice president and general counsel for PhRMA, urged caution against changes that could undermine incentives for continued pharmaceutical innovation.
He said the Hatch-Waxman Act, enacted in 1984, was designed to bring generic drugs to market faster. Since the enactment of the act, the generic share of the pharmaceutical market has increased from 20% to nearly 50%, Mr. Kuhlik said, while the cost of developing an innovative medicine has risen to $800 million.
Unlike other industries in which patents are protected for 18.5 years, patents in medicine have an effective life of only 11 or 12 years, he said.