An Analysis of the Introduction of Product Patents in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Comparison Study of Indian, Mega- and Japanese Pharmaceutical Firms

Just after India won an independence from Great Britain in 1947, there was almost no pharmaceutical industry in India. Under the Patents Act, 1970 which did not have any product patent protection, the Indian pharmaceutical industry rapidly developed. Today Indian pharmaceutical market ranks the $3^{\mathrm{rd}}$ in volume and $14^{\mathrm{th}}$ in values. Meanwhile, due to TRIPS, India re-introduced product patent in 2005 in the pharmaceutical field. Foreseeing a product patent era, large Indian firms started engaging in NCE development in around 2000. However, not many NCEs have been developed by Indian pharmaceutical firms so far. This study analyzed new drug development activities of Indian pharmaceutical companies by using database. The database analysis found that large Indian pharmaceutical companies have been expanding their R&D investment and engaged in NCE development; however, the amount of R&D investment is still much smaller compared to Mega pharma and leading Japanese pharmaceutical firms. The number of product patents applied by Indian pharmaceutical companies are limited and as a result, NCE development activities are strictly limited in India.