Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Patents: The Opportunity of Pharmerging Countries

Abstract

Countries with emerging pharmaceutical market (pharmerging countries) has gained prominence in the international scenario because they are identified as the future responsible for the sustainable growth of the new medicines sale. However, there are still few studies focused on these regions, and it is of extreme interest to assess whether these countries are exploring their domestic markets. In this work, a technological and industrial mapping of the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical segment were developed through the analysis of patents data extracted from the Derwent World Patent Index platform (Thomson Reuters Scientific) as well as the association of R&D report. In the pharmaceutical scenario, the importance of European and North American industries stands out, mainly Novartis (1,402 patents) and Roche (1,380 patents), which are the pharmaceutical industries that most invested in R&D in 2017, suggesting a positive correlation between R&D and pharma innovation. For biopharmaceutical patents, the importance of Merck and the German company Sartorius Bioprocess Solutions, both with about 74 protections, stands out. The total of biopharma patents refer to only 2.2% of total pharmaceutical protections, suggesting that biopharmaceutical sector still has much to advance in innovation. Also, it was conclude that pharmerging countries, like China and Brazil, are not represented by the companies that most invest in R&D, nor do they currently stand out among the largest holders of pharma or biopharma patents, showing low exploration of emerging market opportunity.