Pharmaceutical firms spend increasing amounts in mergers and acquisitions (M&As), which raises the question of whether sufficient investment is left after mergers to further develop firms' internal drug development capability. We evaluate the effects of M&As on firms' post-merger R&D...

Biologics accounted for roughly $145 billion in spending in 2018 (IQVIA, 2019). They are also the fastest growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry. The Biological Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) of 2010 created an abbreviated pathway for biosimilar products to promote price...

We attribute the recent quadrupling of heroin death rates to the August, 2010 reformulation of an oft-abused prescription opioid, OxyContin. The new abuse-deterrent formulation led many consumers to substitute to an inexpensive alternative, heroin. Using structural break techniques and variation...

This paper outlines challenges for the cannabis industry in Germany in light of the internationally accelerating legalization of the drug for medical and recreational use. As handling of active substances in Europe and especially in Germany is strictly regulated, thorough documentation of all...

"Viral hepatitis is an international public health challenge, comparable to other major communicable diseases, including HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Despite the significant burden it places on communities across all global regions, hepatitis has been largely ignored as a health and...

This South Centre research paper by Dr. German Velasquez describes and analyses the mandate, programmes, strategies, and activities that different international organizations such as WHO, WTO, WIPO, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNAIDS, the UN Human Rights Council, and the UN Secretary-General's High Level...

The debate on generic medicines is not new. What makes it different today is that attacks levelled against biological products are couched in ever more "technical" and abstruse language that confuses even the World Health Organization (WHO). Innovative biological drugs, which have been...

"Viral hepatitis is an international public health challenge, comparable to other major communicable diseases, including HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Despite the significant burden it places on communities across all global regions, hepatitis has been largely ignored as a health and...

This South Centre research paper by Dr. German Velasquez describes and analyses the mandate, programmes, strategies, and activities that different international organizations such as WHO, WTO, WIPO, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNAIDS, the UN Human Rights Council, and the UN Secretary-General's High Level...

The debate on generic medicines is not new. What makes it different today is that attacks levelled against biological products are couched in ever more "technical" and abstruse language that confuses even the World Health Organization (WHO). Innovative biological drugs, which have been...

The European Commission is reviewing the use of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs), a patent term extension motivated by the increasing length of market approvals for pharmaceuticals. The initiative is driven by EU Health Ministers thinking that changes in patent exclusivity rights...

The basic principle of patent law is that once the term of a patent has expired, the protected subject matter becomes a part of the public domain. Hence, it can be freely used, including for commercial purposes, without the interference by the former patent owner. This allows competitors to...