A very interesting article here from The Guardian. Ben Goldacre presents two sides to the argument over patents. Tenofovir is an ARV (Anti-Retro-Viral drug) used for the treatment of HIV and AIDS. It is produced by an Indian company called Cipla. Unfortunately Cipla does not own the patent to the drgi. It is able to sell the drug so cheaply to developing countries because it does not have to re-copu any research and development costs.
Unsurprisingly Cipla ended up in court with GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, wanting Cipla to cease its manufacturing of such drugs.
Morally, this is an easy one to argue: the company which sells the drug for the lowest price is saving the most lives. 75% of the 4 million people in the world taking medication for AIDS are using the cheaper generic copies. On the other hand, if large companies cannot protect their patents, will they stop innovating?
This is a topic for Upper Sixth Economists to ponder as one the first topics we will look at is how firms erect barriers to entry to stave off competition.
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