Only two infectious diseases have been globally eradicated: smallpox and rinderpest. While both diseases caused people to suffer incredibly different symptoms, the diseases had one element in common. Patents protected the vaccines used to treat smallpox and rinderpest. Intellectual property protection has been crucial for several advances in the medical field, due to the high product development costs and chances of competitors copying the developing technologies. As of 2006, the cost of medical devices in the global marketplace exceeded $260 billion, and has only continued to rise.
However, because the production costs of these medical devices and pharmaceuticals are so high, millions of people around the world are unable to obtain necessary healthcare. For example, as of 2014, close to seventy percent of all cardiac pacemaker sales occurred in the United States and Europe, while several countries in Africa and Asia have absolutely no access to pacemakers. In order to respond to this problem, research scientists have begun developing low-cost medical technologies and using intellectual property rights to give people in developing countries access to adequate healthcare.
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However, because the production costs of these medical devices and pharmaceuticals are so high, millions of people around the world are unable to obtain necessary healthcare. For example, as of 2014, close to seventy percent of all cardiac pacemaker sales occurred in the United States and Europe, while several countries in Africa and Asia have absolutely no access to pacemakers. In order to respond to this problem, research scientists have begun developing low-cost medical technologies and using intellectual property rights to give people in developing countries access to adequate healthcare.
Continue to IPWatchdog Article
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