New drugs "should have two markets"

To solve the problem of access to new drugs for poor countries andmaintenance of brand-name drugmakers' patent rights in rich ones, economist Jenny Lanjouw of Yale University in the USA is proposing that two separate markets be created for new drugs.

Her plan, published by the Brookings Institution, is for companies applying to the US Patent Office for a foreign-filing license for a new drug to have to choose between receiving patent protection in rich countries or poor ones. The Wall Street Journal reports that Merck & Co is examining Ms Lanjouw's plan, and that the US Treasury Department has held a seminar to discuss it.