Monopoly and public benefit: a study on the balance between patent rights and easy market access of the public to patented pharmaceutical products and the role of Senate Bill No. 2139 on the Philippine pharmaceutical industry setting

• Main Authors: Noel, Cyril Vincent S., Soliman, Miguel Paolo R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2006
• Subjects: Commercial Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/17685
• Institution: De La Salle University

Sa panahon ngayon, bawal magkasakit! This is a popular slogan of a pharmaceutical manufacturer selling its multivitamin capsule to the public. If we take the slogan literally, we will absolutely agree with the slogan. The use of pharmaceutical products is essential for the survival of any person in this world. Not, only does it alleviate and cure diseases, but it also serve as a form of a maintenance agent for the body to be physically fit all throughout its lifetime. However, not all Filipinos can avail of these medicines due to their high cost. One should question: Why are the prices of medicines so high? This is due to the fact that medicines that are given a specific brand are more expensive than their generic counterparts. The government deemed it necessary to introduce the means in order to bring about the existence of a trade system where local manufacturers can freely stretch their arms and create their own kind of generic drugs that is as effective and beneficial as the branded ones. Senate Bill No. 2139 does this through giving these local manufacturers the time to conduct the necessary research a few year before the patent expires on a certain pharmaceutical invention, having a more liberal compulsory licensing, and parallel importation. This would give in return, completion that would lower the prices of the branded ones in order for poor people to afford these drugs and in the long run, be able to live a longer life while still protecting the interests of patent owners.