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Pharmaceutical Companies, Intellectual Property, and the Global Aids Epidemic

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IBUS 3312 - International Management
Pharmaceutical Companies, Intellectual Property, and the Global AIDS Epidemic

Analysis

While this case is literally full of negative aspects, we will only focus on the main points for both arguments. Pharmaceutical companies want to be sure that the products they spend years and millions of dollars to create are not easily reproduced and sold at discount prices. The profits pharmaceuticals make of their patented products are supposed to refinance new research. So taking away their exclusive distribution rights and allowing other manufacturers to just copy the product and sell it at minimal costs also harms the innovative processes in which new and better drugs are developed [1]. Those …show more content…

If you look at how everything has developed since AIDS was first regarded as s major threat to public health in the beginning of the 1980’s it could be said that a lot of progress has been made. Not in a way where infected individuals around the world get the treatment they need or the developing countries get completely the support necessary, but today the world is closer to that goal than years before. This is important to outline because people tend to forget the progress been made, as they are only searching for a certain ending or result. The final solution to the dilemma between distribution of drugs to all people in need and the costly and continuous research required to find a cure, is not in reach [3].
What would Help?
An important point is that every time the pharmaceuticals yield a little bit to the grounds of intellectual property, big problems start arising everywhere. This could make us wonder if the pharmaceuticals would have yielded completely to what the developing countries were asking, would have people suffering from this terrible virus really gotten the help they needed? It is difficult to answer this question and as seen on the case the solution isn’t as easy as it looks. It wasn’t just a matter of letting generic drugs be produced and sold, there also had to be some regulations to this process to make sure that it was really helping people in developing countries.

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