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Published online 15 July 2009 | Nature 460, 317 (2009) | doi:10.1038/460317a
News in Brief
Europe attacks tactics that delay generic drugs
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Please note this is News in Brief, and so will be a short article.
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Evergreening is the term used to describe the tactical extension of patents. The purpose of a patent is to provide protection for a profit reward for companies that invest in a new invention. However this protection was not meant to be abused. These days it seems that all too many pharmaceuticals are failing to see the original purpose of the patent, which was an exchange of a useful invention for an exchange of temporary profit protection. Is this the inevitable bi-product of expensive pharmaceutical development costs, or a case of greed going too far? Either way, it's the consumer who loses out.