Mitigating Risks In Countries With Poor IP Protection

By Gail Dutton, Contributing Writer
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Global pharmaceutical companies set their sights on China when the concept of intellectual property (IP) was new and poorly understood. Now they are sizing up Latin America and Southeast Asia, where intellectual theft remains common. Although companies are reluctant to discuss their strategies for entering countries with weak IP protection, a new study of 142 pharmas in 118 countries reveals a key commonality in terms of protecting IP while opening new markets for commercialization, manufacturing, and R&D.

The strategy comes down to not putting all their eggs in one basket. Instead, companies are taking a regional approach to entry.