Balancing Innovation and Access: The Role of Intellectual Property in Healthcare

The pace of development in medical technology and pharmaceuticals is continuing to increase, making the impact that intellectual property (IP) has on healthcare even more important. The part of the chapter starts with types of IP patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets in healthcare research and development (R&D). On the one hand, it points out that strong IP protections spur innovation by enabling firms to capture a return on R&D spending, hence creating new issues about high drug prices and limited access among disadvantaged populations. The review also includes international trade agreements like the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and Doha Declaration, which work for a strike of balance between IP rights and public health needs. The chapter advocates for the use of flexibilities within these frameworks such as compulsory licensing to improve access to life-saving treatments in public health emergencies. It concludes with a comparison of the ways in which IP is addressed in healthcare across nations illustrating that countries like India have found solutions where they prioritize public health and yet do not compromise on innovation. The chapter concludes with some ethical reflections on who should bear the cost in terms of lost profit when essential treatments are not accessible to those (M) CBs: patients, insurers, or pharm industries.