"Market Power, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights: Tackling the Legal Monopolies of Pharmaceutical Products"

NOTE: This is an internal seminar and is addressed to UNCTAD Staff members and to the general public.
If you wish to attend but you are not a UNCTAD staff member please contact:
D. Bicchetti, david.bicchetti@unctad.org, E 8077, +41 (0) 22 917 58 53.

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT

DITC Competition Consumer Policies Branch organizes a Brown Bag Seminar entitled:
"Market Power, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights: Tackling the Legal Monopolies of Pharmaceutical Products"
David Bicchetti

Date: Monday January 23, 2006
Venue: 13:00-14:00, Room E 7052, Palais des Nations.

It is claimed that legal monopoly power granted by Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are needed in order to cover huge costs of Research and Development (R&D) in pharmaceutical industry. The drug industry deals with health, which is a public good and an important component of social welfare. However giving monopoly rights entails a loss of welfare from an economic perspective. Access to health care is a primary concern not only in developing countries and LDC but also in developed countries.

Therefore questions arise: What balance can be chosen between preserving incentives for R&D and social welfare? What can competition policies do to improve access to health care? Are IPRs giving too much protection to the drug industry? Is the recent amendment of the TRIPS addressing the problem?

A 30 minute presentation by David Bicchetti will be followed by a discussion of the questions raised. All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Please feel free to bring your lunch bags