Intellectual Property Priorities Assignment 2
Introduction
It is tough for the CEO of a drug business to both protect intellectual property (IP) and make sure
that everyone can get cheap medicine. Developing a new medicine cost the company a lot of
money. Particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, finding the sweet spot between company
demands and customer wants requires consideration of both ethics and practicality. This paper
combines biblical knowledge with contemporary concepts about business ethics to examine how
a drug company could balance its financial goals with its customers' needs.
The Biblical Framework for Balancing Business and Customer Needs
Matthew 22:37–40 (KJV) lays out two of the most crucial guidelines for Christians: Love the
Lord your God with all your being; this includes your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Among the
Ten commandments, this one is at the top of the list. The second commandment also states,
"Love your neighbor as yourself." These principles center on the golden rule, an idea that could
assist for-profit businesses manage both customer needs and financial goals: treat other people
with the same kindness and consideration that you want to get from them.
Ethical and Practical Considerations in the Pharmaceutical Industry
The performance of consumers and the income generated by the pharmaceutical company are
rather closely linked. Two main issues confronting the pharmaceutical industry are ensuring their
products are reasonably priced for those who need them and acquiring their hands on their
significant R&D investments. Making new medicines is very expensive because they need to go
through a lot of clinical studies and get government approval (Kubasek et al., 2023) so
companies need to focus on making money to stay in business and pay for future research.
Intellectual Property Priorities Assignment 3
The need of doing the right thing cannot let profits to take front stage. Greater awareness of
social, environmental, and ethical issues is being raised by activist movements such Occupy Wall
Street. Hoepner and Schopohl (2016) claim that these groups say large organizations fail to
satisfy everyone's needs. Businesses have to be aware of what consumers want as social attitudes
develop.
Intellectual Property and Patient Access
The performance of consumers and the income of the pharmaceutical company have a quite
close relationship. Two main issues confronting the pharmaceutical industry are ensuring their
products are reasonably priced for those who need them and acquiring their hands on their
significant R&D investments.
Some people try to protect intellectual property, but this can make drugs more expensive, so
people who really need them can't get them. Researchers who published a study in 2019 in PLoS
One said that patients with diseases like incurable lung cancer have a hard time mentally and
physically because they don't have many treatment choices. It is clear that the drug business
needs to find a way to protect intellectual property while also making sure that its drugs are
available and not too expensive.
A Multifaceted Approach to Balancing Needs
A pharmaceutical company CEO must use a variety of techniques for managing business and
customer needs. Differential pricing to fit market buying power, patient assistance programs to
provide discounts and subsidies, forming alliances with healthcare professionals and advocacy
groups to match innovations with patient needs, implementing sustainable practices to minimize
the company's impact on the environment, and being open and ethical to build trust and ensure
long-term success. Differential pricing is one approach; it includes adjusting prices based on the
Intellectual Property Priorities Assignment 4
purchasing power of different markets or patient groups. This method allows for profitability
while also keeping essential drugs accessible. Patient assistance programs can partially alleviate
the disparity between patients' needs and the exorbitant expense of pharmaceuticals. By utilizing
these programs, which grant discounts or subsidies for people under financial restrictions,
pharmaceuticals become more fairly priced and easily available (Kubasek et al., 2023).
Another crucial role of cooperative efforts is matching drug developments with patient needs.
Working with healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, and regulatory authorities,
pharmaceutical companies can design drugs that give patient efficacy and safety-first priority
while also addressing society ramifications (Sherwood, 2019). Sustainable methods used in
manufacturing medicines may aid pharmaceutical firms connect with bigger social values and
morals by decreasing their effects on the environment (Frischtak, 2019).
Last but not least, trust must be earned and success must be sustained through ethical and
transparent methods. Maintaining ethical labor standards and keeping business relationships
transparent is absolutely vital. Thus, it is essential to implement policies protecting intellectual
property without encouraging exploitative behavior (Telscher & Fletcher, 2014).
Conclusion
It takes careful planning that incorporates ethical concepts and practical tactics to strike a balance
between business goals and customer needs in a for-profit framework, particularly in the
pharmaceutical industry. By adopting biblical principles like "loving your neighbor as yourself"
and applying strategies like patient aid programs and differential pricing, companies can
reconcile earning a profit with doing what's best for their consumers. Taking a whole approach
that provides cooperation, sustainability, and transparency the highest priority would help to
Intellectual Property Priorities Assignment 6
References
Fitzgerald, K. (2019). The Business Roundtable’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.
Harvard Business Review.
Frischtak, C. (2019). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Pathway to Sustainable Development.
Journal of Business Ethics.
Hoepner, A. G., & Schopohl, L. (2016). Social, Environmental, and Ethical Impacts of Financial
Institutions. Journal of Business Ethics.
Kubasek, N. K., Browne, M. N., & Eagle, S. (2023). Contemporary Business Law: Text and
Cases. Pearson Education.
PLoS One. (2019). Patient-Centered Care for Lung Cancer Patients: An Overview. PLoS One.
Sherwood, A. (2019). Ensuring Patient Efficacy and Safety in Pharmaceutical Development.
Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research.
Telscher, L., & Fletcher, S. (2014). Protecting Intellectual Property: The Importance of IP
Insurance. Intellectual Property Journal.
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