Medicinal product safety

The price of identical products with the same degree of intellectual property protection (e.g. a patent or trademark protection) can vary from one country to another. If price differences are big enough, distributors have an incentive to exploit this difference commercially: they purchase large quantities of a product in a low-price country, then import it and sell it in a high-price country. By doing so, the parallel importer is in competition with the manufacturer.

It is important
to make a distinction between trademark protection and patent protection:
trademark protection is primarily protection of the product name conferred on
the manufacturer that also protects consumers. A trademark provides protection
against imitations. If you pay a high price for a Rolex, a Lacoste T-shirt or a
handbag from Louis Vuitton, you want to be sure that you’re buying the
original. In contrast, patent protection protects only against competition. A
patent confers on the discoverer a time-limited exclusive right to exploit the
discovery commercially, thus creating an incentive to invest in research and
development. This protection against competition is generally more
comprehensive but, unlike a trademark, lasts only for a limited period of time.
Medicinal products lose their patent protection between 10 and a maximum of 15
years after authorisation.

The pharmaceuticals market: state regulation – differentiated regulation

The dynamic of the pharmaceuticals market makes a very important contribution to Switzerland’s innovative strength. This position and this strength should not be weakened by parallel imports of products for which prices are regulated. Switzerland needs the substantial contribution made by the pharmaceutical industry.

• The parallel importer, who
  creates little added value, is the only beneficiary of parallel imports.
• Parallel imports make it
  easier for counterfeit medicines to find their way onto the market.
• Parallel imports can also
  cause considerable difficulties in terms of a country’s provision with
  medicines.