Encouraging innovation

A patent is a contract between inventor and the state. In return for disclosing the invention to the public - driving science forward - the inventor receives the right to exclude others from practicing the invention. The patent is only valid for a limited period of time, typically 20 years from the filing date of the initial patent application.

Pharmaceutical companies rely on government-granted patents to protect their huge investments in researching and developing new drugs. On average, it takes eight to ten years and costs up to USD 1-1.7 billion to develop one new medicine.

Without patents to protect all the inventions necessary to develop a drug for a limited time, others could simply copy the drugs immediately, offering their versions at a reduced price since they did not incur the high costs to develop the drug. This would seriously impact pharmaceutical companies' ability to recoup their costs and reinvest in other research projects.

Denying patent protection for innovative medicines does not help patients or increase their access to medical treatment.

Such actions would most likely adversely affect patients by denying them continuous access to innovative new drugs or even, eventually, generic medicines too.

The tension between intellectual property rights and access to medicine is addressed by the Doha Declaration offering a new instrument of compulsory licenses for export to countries with lack of manufacturing capacity in case of public health problems. Novartis supports the flexibilities offered in this declaration.

Learn more about Doha Declaration