The Ethical Dilemma of the Production of Generic Drugs by Many Indian Pharmaceutical Companies - Assignment Example

The basic facts of the issue are extremely simple. Larger pharmaceuticals like Merck and GlaxoSmithKline spend significant resources on research for the development of many life-saving or improving drugs. To incentivize this expenditure on research many governments have established patents that allow companies to get a sufficient return on their investment. However, the Indian government’s legal system does not protect the patent right of these pharmaceuticals. Because of the poverty-stricken nature of most of the Indian populace, the government wants to keep the costs of many life-saving drugs low.

In order to ensure this, it allows many pharmaceuticals to produce a generic copy of the same drug, which they produce at cheaper rates. TAlthough this is a complex issue, there are possible solutions to ease the tension between the conflicting stakeholders. One is that of more government involvement, for example, governments, setting a fixed return on the investment that pharmaceuticals make and compensating them from the loss. Another is that of ensuring that generic product does not leave their national boundaries to be used in countries where patent laws do not allow generic production.