Pharmaceutical companies want intellectual property protections to be key focus

Several pharmaceutical companies are staying vigilant in their commitment to finding proper treatments and vaccine research and development (R&D) related to COVID-19, according to PhRMA.

The news media reported that reliable intellectual property (IP) protections have helped to drive the innovation, as well as enhance patient access to some breakthrough therapies to help combat the virus, while innovators are focusing on the protections afforded in the discovery of new medical advances so that they can keep people across America health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think IP is a fundamental part of our industry and if you don’t protect IP, then essentially there is no incentive for anybody to innovate," AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said, the news media reported.

Consumer Action for a Strong Economy (CASE) co-founder and attorney Gerard Scimeca told the news media that CASE had its best minds working on solutions to speed up treatments, as well as any cures.

"If we are serious about finding workable COVID-19 treatments, government should be protecting innovation and removing regulatory barriers that cause treatments to be delayed or scuttled," Scimeca said, the news media reported.

The news media notes that IP protections are essential in supporting the nation's innovation ecosystem. Biopharmaceutical companies are focusing on making sure people are aware that treatments and vaccines that become available for the coronavirus are available to everyone who needs them.

"There does not appear to be any evidence that IP has been a barrier to access to vaccines, treatments or cures. This is not the time to undermine the IP system," Tan Tee Jim, senior counsel with an active practice in IP, said, the news media reported. "The incentive framework which underpins the system is still relevant and is particularly necessary for companies that undertake costly and risky investments involved in the search for the COVID-19 vaccine. This would not be possible if a thriving innovation ecosystem built on strong IP incentives were absent."