Intellectual Property in Pharmaceuticals: Continuing the Dialogue

Issues concerning patents and the protection of intellectual property play an important role in the sustainable development of Russia’s national healthcare system and ensuring drug security in the country. The legal regulation of intellectual property ensures the protection of innovations and thereby encourages the emergence of effective solutions that are increasingly clinical in the fight against socially significant diseases. One of the government’s strategic priorities is to ensure uninterrupted access to quality medicines for patients. In this regard, it is particularly important, on the one hand, to find a balance between maintaining the incentive to create innovations for the market and ensure the patent protection of original developments, as well as the task of ensuring the availability of medicines in the short term, on the other hand. It is crucial to harmonize the interests of foreign and domestic developers as drivers of industry development, as well as the state as the entity that guarantees the availability of innovations and ensures the safety of people’s lives and health. How can we improve the effectiveness of mechanisms to protect the rights of patent holders in order to continue providing patients with access to modern innovative drugs? How can we ensure a more transparent and sustainable connection between the launch date of a generic drug and the registration date of its price? What conditions and procedures need to be clarified when applying compulsory licensing? What solutions can Russian and foreign companies offer in terms of finding a balance of interests?