Patent nonsense: Evidence tells of an industry out of social control

Henry Mintzberg

doi:10.1503/cmaj.050575

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Pharmaceutical industry
Yves Morin

Posted on: 31 August 2006

Posted on: (31 August 2006)
Page navigation anchor for Pharmaceutical industry
Pharmaceutical industry
Yves Morin
In his commentary1 on the pharmaceutical industry, Henry Mintzberg recommends measures that do not apply to this country. Pricing is one such measure. Canada is unique in having two levels of price control, federal and provincial. Independent “clearing houses” for information on health products: Canada has a plethora of these, at the federal and at the provincial level, in addition to scientific bodies and journals. Di...
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In his commentary1 on the pharmaceutical industry, Henry Mintzberg recommends measures that do not apply to this country. Pricing is one such measure. Canada is unique in having two levels of price control, federal and provincial. Independent “clearing houses” for information on health products: Canada has a plethora of these, at the federal and at the provincial level, in addition to scientific bodies and journals. Direct-to -consumer advertising is currently forbidden in Canada.
More important in my opinion is the unimpressive condition of industrial health research in Canada. In spite of our large number of biotech companies, (3rd in the world after the US and the UK), our country is at the bottom of the OECD scale in health industrial R&D and in balance of payments of health products. Canadian discoveries are often and unfortunately developed elsewhere. Instead of blaming the pharmaceutical industry for developing and commercializing health products discovered by biotech companies, we should establish the conditions that will convince them to do so in Canada. Instead of finding fault with intellectual property as it applies to novel health products, we should see that it is strengthened in Canada. Instead of taking issue with the pharmaceutical industry’s research (for example, it should study the causes of breast cancer and not its cures), we should make sure that the environment in Canada is conducive to encouraging industrial R&D. Instead of lamenting the increasing numbers of health researchers in industry, we should increase their numbers in Canada where they are abnormally small. And so forth.
Professor Mintzberg is world renowned for his studies in the area of management and strategic planning. He should now focus on a genuine pharmaceuticals strategy for Canada: this is a priority for our health care delivery system.
REFERENCE.
1. Mintzberg H. Patent nonsense: Evidence tells of an industry out of social control. CMAJ 2006;175(4):374-77
Conflict of Interest:
Yves Morin chairs the Rx&D Health Research Foundation Board and is a member of the steering committee of the Canadian Health Industries Partnership
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Competing Interests: None declared.