The TRIPS Agreement, which specifies minimum levels of intellectual property protection for countries in the WTO, has increased levels of patent protection around the world. Using variation across countries in the timing of patent laws and the severity of disease, we test the hypothesis that increased patent protection results in greater drug development effort. We find that patent protection in wealthy countries is associated with increases in R&D effort. However, the introduction of patents in developing countries has not been followed by greater R&D investment in the diseases that are most prevalent there.

This paper finds that the use of price controls has a statistically and quantitatively important effect on the extent and timing of the launch of new drugs. Firms headquartered in countries that regulate price reach fewer markets than those in countries without price controls. Companies avoid price-controlled markets, and are less likely to introduce products in additional markets after entering a price-controlled country. Launches into low-price European countries are further delayed following legalization of parallel imports. The results suggest that price regulation in one country affects entry into other countries, and may affect the strategies of domestic firms.