Alberta Inventors and Inventions

The photo shows one of the regular inspections during the production of Cipro®. Such procedures are carried out regularly during all pharmaceutical production processes at Bayer.

As a result of the high cost and the advanced technology associated with developing new drugs, treatments and vaccines, pharmaceutical companies are protected by the patent process when it comes to the drugs they develop. Exclusive ownership of a pharmaceutical treatment is a reward for what may have been years of research and an incentive to maintain funding in medical research and pharmaceutical development. The patent guarantees the company the right to be the sole manufacturer of the drug until the time when the patent expires.

When that patent expires, the exclusive manufacturing of the drug is no longer protected. Other companies then can produce generic drugs, identical versions of the brand-name pharmaceuticals. While these generic drugs are chemically the same in strength, quality and performance as a brand-name product, they are typically less expensive to consumers. The generic version can be sold for less, as the initial cost outlay of research and development does not need to be recouped. Access to these pharmaceutical increases and the public good can be seen to be served. However, on the other hand, generic production undermines the incentives offered by the patent system to the innovative research companies.

On the surface, it may seem to be an issue that is related to market forces and the capitalist economy. However, pharmaceuticals are not like other commercial products in our society. Rather, they are treatments of powerful importance that can save lives, prevent illness and increase quality of life. An ethical dilemma, therefore, arises around the motivations within pharmaceutical production. One can ask whether the good that these pharmaceutical companies can generate is placed above or below public welfare in face of the profits required for sustainability and future, whether contributing market forces should direct innovation that deals with health and quality of life, and how to strike a balance between public benefit and public harm.

To expand upon the ethical concerns that can arise, within pharmaceutical production, consider the following example in which the public good was balanced against the need to preserve patent protection and innovative research efforts. After the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, concerns over reports of mail contaminated with the highly infectious bacterium anthrax spread through the United States and Canada.

In response to public concern, Health Canada decided to purchase Cipro™, an anthrax poisoning treatment, from a Canadian generic drug producer Apotex Inc. However, Bayer AG, the American original developer of the drug opposed this plan, based on the fact that they had patent protection on Cipro that was to last until 2004 in Canada and 2003 in the United States. The American government backed Bayer AG, and eventually the Canadian government bowed to pressure from the various political channels in both Canada and the United States, and chose to respect patent law rather than pass special Canadian legislation that would allow for the drug's manufacture.

Pharmaceuticals