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The Medical Device And Pharmaceutical Industries

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The medical device and pharmaceutical industries exert enormous global impact. Frost and Sullivan estimated the 2011 medical device industry revenue at $102.1 billion for the U. S. market . The European medical technology market has been estimated at €100 billion . According to a recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Technology Monitoring Team Report, 16,538 patents were issued for medical devices or pharmaceuticals in 2012 . In the same year in Europe, more than 10,000 patent applications were filed with the European Patent Office in the field of medical technology and/or pharmaceuticals. Innovations in the health technology fields surpassed all other European patent applications . Additionally, the European medical technology industry employs more than 575,000 people . Moreover, the European pharmaceutical industry employs 675,000 people . Comparatively, the US medical technology industry employs 520,000 people . Thus, the medical technology industry is an important player in the European and US economies. It is not surprising then, that when economies compete with ethical responsibilities, there will be controversial observations. Notwithstanding the economic impact, medical devices and pharmaceuticals are an integral part of the global social framework. Our modern society considers health care as a right. Citizens of all nations desire health care treatments that reflect the latest medical technologies. Thus, there is a complex triangular
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