This I Believe

I was diagnosed with diabetes over twenty years ago. I remember how sick I felt before I was diagnosed: I slept about sixteen hours a day, but was still lethargic and exhausted; I was constantly parched with thirst and nearly dying of hunger. In the days before insulin, I certainly would not have survived twenty years past that point. And I know I wouldn’t have my three beautiful children, or my demanding job as a patent attorney.

Since I was diagnosed, there has seemingly been a great new invention every year: a better formulation of insulin so that I don’t have to eat at predetermined times, and don’t have to wait a half hour after my shot to eat; better, smaller syringes so that I don’t mind the shots so much; glucose monitors that are not only smaller and faster, but that also remember all my past readings so that I can better adjust my dosage. I am profoundly grateful for the initial research that identified insulin, but I am also grateful for the continued research that makes my daily life better, will keep me healthier longer, and that perhaps will eventually lead to a cure.

These inventions and constant improvements are available in large part because of the patent system. Pharmaceutical companies get a monopoly on their new inventions for about twenty years, which lets them charge prices above what they could charge if they had competition. This higher profit margin gives investors and pharmaceutical companies a reason to keep pouring money into R&D.

A friend recently told me about a patented cancer drug that helps patients withstand chemotherapy and radiation better because it makes them less nauseated. Because of the patent protection, though, this drug is very expensive. She told me that patients who can’t afford this drug sometimes don’t continue with radiation because they would literally rather die of cancer than continue to feel so ill from the treatment. I ache for these people and their families, but the solution to this problem is to change the health insurance system. The patent system is working beautifully · it created the drug.

The pharmaceutical companies only reap this higher profit for about twenty years. After that, the patent expires, and the public gets the benefit of the generic drug for ever more. If we take this higher profit away, if we import drugs from Canada or enact price limits, then there will be less investment, less R&D, and fewer inventions.

Therefore, I believe in a patent system that rewards investors for taking financial risks and inventors for creativity and diligence. I believe that the system we have today in the US encourages investors and pharmaceutical companies to put money in so that innovative and useful medicines and treatments keep coming out. I believe that the work that I do every day, prosecuting and litigating patents, makes a difference in peoples’ lives. And I believe that one day, there will be a cure.