Inventors, designers, developers and authors can protect the ideas they have developed to prevent others from wrongly profiting from their creations or inventions.
A recent Business Day Dialogue- in partnership with the Innovative Pharmaceutical Association of South Africa (IPASA) shone the spotlight on the protection of intellectual property (IP) and why it is so important.
In simple terms, IP can be defined as creations of the mind which can be protected by patents, trademarks, copyrights, or trade secrets, said Dr McLean Sibanda, MD and board member of Bigen Global. Most biotechnical and pharmaceutical innovations come from universities, and patents ensure both the protection of research results and space at the negotiating table.
SA was the first country in the world to grant a patent to an Artificial Intelligence (AI) invention, causing something of a controversy globally given that AI is regarded as a “black box”. Such administrative and technical considerations should be weighed up carefully to establish whether the three principles of registering a patent, namely novelty, inventiveness, and utility, have been met or not. Furthermore, in the age of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), robust debates are needed on this type of development.
In SA, procurement regulations need to be formulated to support local production and incentivise it, as investment can be lost with restrictive conditions.
Zweli Bashman, MD of MSD and President of IPASA, pointed out the importance of innovation in science and medicine in that patents guarantee an environment of certainty to enable commercialisation, which further encourages innovation and development. He suggested that the issue of access could be expedited by aggregating volumes, thus resulting in better pricing.
Since the pandemic, he said, voluntary IP licensing has allowed manufacturers access to therapeutic drugs, permitting patent holders to grow their markets while reducing the retail price of these drugs. He called for meaningful engagement between innovators and investors to secure mutually beneficial partnerships.
IP protection incentivises researchers to share information, which facilitates the development of new drugs, said Dr Tsepo Tsekoa, chief researcher at the Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR). SA researchers need to base their clinical trials on local populations to minimise adverse side effects, and collaboration across borders should be encouraged. He suggested that African governments should consider consolidating IP regulations so that they apply uniformly across the continent as investors need to have confidence that protection regulations apply across the continent.
Dr Susan Winks, head of Research Operations and Business Development at H3D Drug Discovery Centre at University of Cape Town (UCT), pointed out that patent protection provides pharmaceutical companies the confidence to take research to full clinical trial phase, while simultaneously safeguarding a university’s technology and attracting foreign investment. It also provides open access, ensuring transparency and encouraging knowledge-sharing. According to Winks, there is a need for more drug research units to distribute research and development throughout the continent.
Universities are “solution shops” for industry, and students are the next generation of innovators, said Professor Yahya Choonara, director of Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform. The value chain of knowledge, combined with human resources, will eventually impact the economy, but more investment in local innovation is needed now. Investor confidence is driven by IP protection, which is vital.
Discussion moderator, Joanne Joseph, talk radio and TV host, summed up by saying that to reach the ultimate goals of innovation, access, affordability and procurement in the IP landscape, there must be support and co-operation from industry players across all the sectors.
To re-watch this discussion click here
Image credit: Pexcels/Nita