I was wondering the other day if someone holds a patent does it have any bearing on the price charged for the product? After doing some research I found that holding a patent enables the value of a company to be much higher.
We will look at the patent process as it relates to the Pharmaceutical Industry.
Let's look at 3 points that cause a high value for a company and then transfer to the consumer.
- Intellectual property.
- Patents curb competition.
- Patents cause higher prices.
Intellectual Property
Patents are considered Intellectual Property with the owners holding the advantage of how the product will be sold. The Intellectual Property (IP) is owned by the person who filed the patent with the owner dictating much of the terms of how the product is sold.
It is a known fact that when a product is under a patent the cost is much higher than when it goes off patent. Once a drug goes off-patent it is open to other companies to duplicate it and sell it for a lower price. We all know that Generic Drugs are considerably less than patent drugs but at one time some were patented. We also know that patent drugs are very expensive with the drug companies' party line that they have to recoup the cost of the development of the drug. So here is a question, if the Government develops a drug and pays the cost of development, what cost does the pharma company have to recover?
Enter the NIH, Dr. Fauci, with the government research into the various drugs through Government grants which are paid by the taxpayer. The Government has an active role in the development of vaccines, which unless you live under a rock, you have read about in the media. The Government gives out massive grants for independent groups to develop vaccines and drugs that are taken by a Pharmaceutical Company and marketed to the public.
Unless someone wants to correct me the money spent by independent sources, including the Federal Government, is spent to develop a drug which is then taken on by a pharmaceutical company. Even though A lot of drugs are discovered by Pharma Companies, they get huge monies paid by the Government and independent sources, which creates attached strings that tie Pharma Companies tighter to the whims of government and special interest.
Therefore with the Government aiding big pharma the cost to pharma is less than if they have to discover the compound and work with it to bring it to market. so when you follow the money you can see that the taxpayer is footing the bill in many ways.
Our tax money goes to assist the development of drug compounds or any independent group that is working on any compounds that have the potential to be used by the public.
So the question remains how much money does Dr. Fauci get from the patents he already holds? How much of the development cost is born by the taxpayer and how much is born by pharma?
Patents Curb Competition
So we know that patents are intellectual property and when a drug is under a patent it's more expensive than a generic drug, but how does it curb competition?
When a new drug is brought to market competitors are kept from selling the drug as a generic and have to either cross-license the proprietary drug with the company that owns the patent through the patent holder.
When a new drug enters the market or when a pharma company is able to patent a combo drug that curbs the competition and closes out the market. Therefore, the pharma company is able to charge top dollars with many medical plans subsidizing the cost.
Patents Cause Higher Prices
So because patents are so controlling and protective, the companies can charge much higher prices. If the Federal Government is busy developing products for the pharma companies and allowing the individual pharma companies to market them and charge whatever they want, this is a reason why prices are so high?
It's a known fact that the owners of Intellectual property results in the ability to charge whatever they want, and the only thing left is that the public then decides whether they want to buy the product or not. This is a whole other discussion as to how the pharma companies market their products.
In Conclusion
As a holder of patents Dr. Fauci can be responsible for the high cost of drugs and how the pharma companies obtain the high price of drugs. Also, years ago and I don't know about now, but anyone that developed intellectual property when they worked for a company or the Federal Government, had to relinquish the IP to their employer and in this case the Federal Government would own the patents and pass that savings on the the taxpayer.
This whole mess is upside down and needs to be fixed. Maybe the MAGA revolution will fix this mess. I guess when the pain is greater than pleasure then the people will rise up and say enough! I hope that time is now!
