World Intellectual Property Day is the perfect time to celebrate human achievement and the rise of IP rights globally. The 2025 celebration on April 26 is themed “IP and music: Feel the beat of IP” and emphasizes the unique role that copyright protections play in creating lyrics and unique sounds. Without the modern and extensive body of copyright law, classic songs may never have existed and cherished films may never have been made. IP is more than just a bundle of laws, court cases and international agreements. These pivotal protections allow artists to follow their passions and continue to create.
From the start of the nation, IP rights have proven critical in fostering. Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution reads, “(The Congress shall have Power …) To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
This provision made clear that a newly centralized government would protect the intellectual property rights of writers, musicians and inventors. Fast-forward a couple of centuries, and IP has proven indispensable to America’s economic might.
IP is not only critical in protecting the arts but also other industries that rely extensively on IP rights. For example, IP protection in the medical and life science fields can be a matter of life or death. Intellectual property rights were essential in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine that saved countless lives in the United States and globally.
Thanks to the power of IP, Pfizer and BioNTech developed and manufactured a COVID-19 vaccine in record time. Pfizer has a company initiative called IP Principles for Advancing Cures and Therapies, which lays out 10 founding principles focusing on the importance of IP related to the development of future cures. In part, it reads, “our success in inventing, developing and delivering medicines and vaccines to help patients live longer and healthier lives depends upon the continued adoption, effective functioning of, and support for the IP system. Its responsible use promotes scientific and technological progress for people, for healthcare systems and for society as a whole.”
Unfortunately, the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug price “negotiation” provisions are a major threat to these laudable principles. The IRA allows Medicare to negotiate prices on specific drugs. However, given the significant clout and buying power of Medicare, the program’s suggested prices are far more than suggestions. “Negotiations” are little more than back-door price controls.
These harmful controls will almost certainly affect patent litigation and lead to far fewer companies developing lifesaving cures. Sure, drug manufacturers may still have IP rights on paper. However, without the ability to recoup the cost to bring these medications to market, rights are little more than a technicality. There is an invisible graveyard of patients who have never received a lifesaving cure due to the deadly duo of price controls and limited IP protections.
The human cost of the IRA is challenging to calculate and may be indeterminable. However, many companies have reacted similarly, retreating from research and development.
A Southern Cal report, “Mitigating the Inflation Reduction Act’s Adverse Impacts on the Prescription Drug Market,” analyzes these adverse effects on drug discovery. According to manufacturers, the IRA is already affecting life science companies’ R&D investment decisions. In an October 2022 earnings report, Alnylam mentioned that it had suspended the development of a treatment for Stargardt disease because of the need to “evaluate the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act.”
In November 2022, Eli Lilly halted the development of a $40 million cancer drug, and the IRA was a reason it shuttered the medication. A November–December 2022 survey from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America indicated that 78 percent of its member companies expect to cancel some of their early stage development projects, and 63 percent expect to shift R&D investment focus away from small molecules.
According to the USC report, this isn’t only an American problem. These unfortunate trends mirrored decreased investment in drug innovation in Europe.
Patients pay the ultimate price when IP rights are not protected and when innovation is delayed or stopped. IP rights had a role in the creation of everything from the latest music hit to the newest awe-inspiring superhero on the silver screen. These protections have also given patients hope that their ailment is one discovery away from treatability. This World IP Day, policymakers would be wise to keep that in mind.
