Intellectual property rights and pharmaceuticals: The case of antibiotics

Economic Research Working Paper No. 26

Author(s): Bhaven N. Sampat | Publication year: 2015

DOI: English

The development and diffusion of antibiotics contributed to large improvements in human health and living standards. The antibiotic revolution also spawned the modern pharmaceutical industry. This paper reviews the development of the early antibiotics, and the roles of intellectual property rights (in particular, patents) in their development and diffusion.

Download

In the same series