Strategic patenting by pharma companies during pandemics & its impact on various stakeholders

Abstract

With the world on the onset of witnessing one of the longest pandemics leading to various responses from different countries like imposing lockdown, compulsion linked to use of mask and ban on international trade and exchange. But one thing that is common everywhere is that this pandemic showed how unprepared humans as a community are when faced with this type of situation, and losses can be substantial whether in terms of many deaths or massive contraction in the GDP. It is estimated that the Covid-19 cost approx. $19 trillion to the US only, and this cost at the worldwide level can be easily somewhere 10-15X of the US figures. All these points and monetary losses put a question mark on the existing practices followed by the pharmaceutical companies and the role of the regulators/government.