Big Pharma and monopoly capitalism: A long-term view

Are IPRs institutions meant to foster innovative activities or conversely secure appropriation and profitability? Taking stock of a long-term empirical evidence on the pharmaceutical sector in US, we can hardly support intended as an innovation rewarding institution. According our analysis, pharma patents have constituted legal barriers protect intellectual monopolies rather than incentive reward efforts. Patenting strategies appear be quite aggressive extending knowledge borders enlarging space protected from possibility infringements. This is also witnessed by fact that patent applications are very skewed covered trade names thickness expands over time. Conversely, ratio protecting new drugs approved FDA which draw upon government-sponsored research – such mark for quality falls. Firm-level analysis profitability confirms strong correlation, restricted listed firms, between portfolio profit margins.