prescription drug patents

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Before breaking for the summer, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology considered weakening the patent regulations that support Canada’s pharmaceutical market. Now, prompted by public-sector unions, the Competition Bureau will look at whether pharmaceutical patents are anti-competitive. These investigations have only one result: to harm international investors’ confidence in Canada’s will to protect intellectual property. Furthermore, history suggests that if they succeed in weakening patents, drug costs are unlikely to come down.