I do a lot of work with the European Patent Office and have gotten to know the hard-working people who drive the protections for innovation through Europe and beyond. SO naturally I was drawn to a TED Talk which addresses how pharmaceutical companies may be using the patent system to secure profits that are putting our medical care into crisis.
Priti Krishtel wants to reinvent the patent system. A lawyer and veteran of the global access to medicines movement, she is exposing how the failures of the patent system are affecting all of us — and how we can fix it.
As a young lawyer working with low-income communities in India in the early 2000s, Priti Krishtel had an epiphany. Many of her clients were struggling and even dying, because they couldn't afford the lifesaving medicines they needed. When Krishtel looked more closely at patent systems, she discovered a pattern of behavior in which corporations were incentivized to seek as many patents as possible on a single medicine. These "patent walls" prolonged monopolies and blocked access to medicines. As the human toll of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic reached its peak, Krishtel helped lead a successful grassroots movement pressing the Indian government to pass a first-of-its-kind, health-friendly patent law.
That momentous win inspired her to co-found I-MAK, a team of "patent detectives" who expose and challenge manipulation of the patent system that fuels high drug prices. Since then, Krishtel and I-MAK have expanded their work to nearly 50 countries, saving health systems over 2 billion dollars and increasing access to treatment for millions of people. HHer talk focuses on the US Patent Office. Perhaps she has a message for us that will help to achieve medical care for all. You can see her 12 minute talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/priti_krishtel_why_are_drug_prices_so_high_investigating_the_outdated_us_patent_system#t-742786
Herb