An Alternative to Pharmaceutical Patents

1
An Alternative toPharmaceutical Patents

• Christian Engström
• Vice Chairman, The Swedish Pirate Party

2
Pharmaceutical Patents Kill

• Third world countries are prevented from
  manufacturing medicines they could afford
• Costs for medicines are increasing in the rich
  world, and nobody has control
• Research priorities get skewed - me too drugs
  instead of life saving new drugs

3
Paying for Drug Research

• Who would pay for the RD without patents?

4
Paying for Drug Research

• Who pays for the RD today?

5
Pharma Industry Figures
The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures
2006 by EFPIA, European Federation of
Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations
6
Pharmaceutical Reimbursement
The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures 2006, page
37
7
The Government Pays Today
Individual patients 17
Governments 83(Compulsory Health Insurance)
8
What Are The Costs?

• Manufacturing the actual substances
• Research Development

9
Manufacturing - Generic Drugs

• Patent free, no RD costs
• Generic drugs are cheap 70-90 reduction
• Swedish FDA reported 70 in a study

10
Generic Drugs Are Cheap

• 30 of today's cost is a conservative estimate
  that includes
• Manufacturing
• Distribution
• Administration
• Marketing
• Profit

11
What Are The Costs?
Manufacturing etc.
12
How Much Is Spent on RD ?

• Specified in the annual reports
• Pfizer 2006 15.7
• Novartis 2006 14.8
• AstraZeneca 2006 14.7
• Industry as a whole 15

13
What Are The Costs?
RD
Manufacturing etc.
14
What Are The Costs?
Patent monopoly cost
RD
Manufacturing etc.
15
Without Patents We Could

• Cut the government's pharma bill by 50
• Allow developing nations free access
• Save money and save lives