Are Patents Still Important to the Pharmaceutical Industry?
January 26, 2017
Patent
You betcha. The business model of Big Pharma depends on patents. Without strong, enforceable patents, privately-funded pharmaceutical research would not exist. Case in point: Gilead sells the highly effective ‘Solvadi’ hepatitis C drug for $1000 per pill. That’s $84,000 for a twelve-week course. Idenix, a Merck subsidiary, argued that Gilead’s Solvadi infringed Idenix patents. A jury […]