Professor Nesbit
Political Science 140
8 November 2020
Week 12 Practical Exercise: Environment and Population
When a new drug is created by a pharmaceutical company, the company places a patent
on it, meaning only that company is allowed to produce, distribute, and profit from it (Mandal).
However, patents are specific to each country. A US patent on a drug, for example, only regulates
the production of that drug on US territory, and the producer of said drug must patent it in other
countries in order to regulate its distribution and profit there (US Patent and Trademark Office)
If a country wishes to have a foreign drug patented, they must send a patent application to the
foreign country (US Patent and Trademark Office). With a patent, the people receiving a drug
can be sure that it is legitimate, and the producers of the drug get their extensive research and
hard work paid off. While a country may be able to produce and distribute a drug without a
patent for a much cheaper price, the people receiving it cannot be certain the drug is what it
claims to be (Shadlen). This issue is prevalent in third world countries that need drugs, such as
those for AIDs or COVID-19. In order to ensure that the people in these countries receive the
treatment they need, we must also take into consideration the quality of those treatments and the
means of obtaining the patents for those drugs. It is not feasible for first world countries such as
the US to just give away all these drugs for free, despite how high the demand for them is.
On average, it takes ten years and $2.6 billion for a new drug to be developed (PhRMA).
The company or companies that create a drug need to be given monetary compensation
somehow. If a country is in need of a certain drug, they must first apply for a patent to ensure
they can rightfully obtain the drug, and the cost of the drug needs to be paid for. The country may
not have the funds to pay for it on their own, but this is where intergovernmental organizations
can step in. Since the health of world citizens is a humanitarian effort, organizations such as the
UN can compensate these pharmaceutical companies in order to get the drugs to countries in
need. The UN states that they are actively involved in promoting and protecting health
worldwide, and the issue with patents and drugs is one area where I see their assistance could be
used (United Nations website). The UN should identify countries with a need for foreign drugs
and then allocate funds in order to facilitate the patent application process and pay for the costs
of the drugs.
The reason that these companies and drug developers must be compensated is because
our global economy operates on a transnational capitalist scale (Robinson). As pessimistic as this
may sound, I believe that the driving force behind all of our great innovations is