The trials and tribulations of pharmaceutical IP management

The pharmaceutical industry relies on innovation to develop new medical treatments, but bringing a product to market is high risk and high cost. It can take decades to develop a new medicine and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.  In an expert view piece, CPA Global, the intellectual property (IP) management company, asks what role IP management will play in protecting pharmaceutical companies in the future?

Protecting the process

IP rights protect the extensive investment in research and clinical testing that must take place before a new product can enter the market.  It can take 10 to 15 years to develop a new medicine, from the earliest stages of compound discovery until its approval for use by the public. The cost of developing a new medicine is also expensive - $2.56 billion according to analysis conducted by the Tufts Centre for the Study of Drug Development.