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Patents and Sustainable Medical Treatment in Developing Countries: Lessons from COVID-19 Vaccines

Author

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  • Ezgi Demir

    (Chair of Technology Management, Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg, 90762 Fürth, Germany)

  • Peter M. Bican

    (Chair of Technology Management, Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg, 90762 Fürth, Germany)

Abstract

COVID-19 has had devastating effects worldwide, and vaccines have become the most efficient solution to address the current pandemic situation thus far. After COVID-19 vaccines had been developed, discussions of the various countries’ equality of access gained traction, with patents and pricing forming a significant part of this discourse. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of patents and prices on the accessibility of COVID-19 vaccines in the developing world, using semi-structured interviews with subject-matter experts in this area of focus. Our analysis of these interviews highlights the fact that patents and prices are not the major barriers to accessibility for medical treatments, both generally and specifically in terms of COVID-19; rather, these barriers relate to the lack of local production capacity, technology transfer, infrastructure, local regulations, and supply-chain competencies. These results suggest that rather than focusing on patents and prices, governments should invest more time in improving technology transfer and using compulsory licenses as a negotiation tool. Moreover, the results show that the pricing strategies applied by companies could have different impacts on access, as could accessibility programs such as COVAX.

Suggested Citation

  • Ezgi Demir & Peter M. Bican, 2023. "Patents and Sustainable Medical Treatment in Developing Countries: Lessons from COVID-19 Vaccines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3121-:d:1062188
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Scherer, F.M., 2000. "The pharmaceutical industry," Handbook of Health Economics, in: A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 25, pages 1297-1336, Elsevier.
    2. Peter M. Bican & Dirk Caspary & Carsten C. Guderian, 2023. "Cross-Border Dynamics of IP Modularity: International Patenting in LEDs and Lithium-Ion Secondary Battery Technology," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 347-376, April.
    3. Forman, Rebecca & Shah, Soleil & Jeurissen, Patrick & Jit, Mark & Mossialos, Elias, 2021. "COVID-19 vaccine challenges: What have we learned so far and what remains to be done?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(5), pages 553-567.
    4. Samira Guennif, 2017. "Is Compulsory Licensing Bad for Public Health? Some Critical Comments on Drug Accessibility in Developing Countries," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 557-565, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Guderian, Carsten C. & Posth, Jan-Alexander & Grob, Linus, 2023. "Investment decisions and passive portfolio construction utilizing patent analytics: A multi-case study on COVID-19 treatment technologies," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 66-87.
    2. Mayimele, Nsovo & Demana, Patrick & Keele, Mothobi, 2023. "Perceptions of Board Members on the Presence of Pharmacists as Strategic Leaders of Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Companies Operating in South Africa: A Qualitative Study," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7(2), pages 87-98.

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