Will big pharma abandon the race for profit? – Gulf Today

Will big pharma abandon the race for profit? – Gulf Today

In normal times pharmaceutical companies invest in the research and development (R&D) of new drugs.. If a new drug turns out to be a "blockbuster" those profits can be very large .. In emergencies, governments also have the power to allow companies that do not own the intellectual property to a medicine to manufacture and sell versions of it for domestic distribution.. If a pharma company developed a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and tried to flog it around the world in the manner of Viagra, it would very soon find itself assailed by compulsory licences, predicts Enrico Bonadio, an expert in intellectual property law at London's City University.. Kaletra is a combination of two antiviral drugs, normally usually used to treat HIV, for which the American pharma company AbbVie has a patent.. GSK's chief executive Emma Walmsley insisted to the BBC this week that the company would not make any profit from its vaccine if it succeeds in developing one..