Intellectual Property

Pharma Israel takes action to strengthen the intellectual property environment in Israel with the objective of ensuring that innovative developments of medicines and advanced technologies are adequately protected.

Intellectual property rights protection provides an incentive to pharmaceutical companies to invest in research and development and to expand their research activities aimed at launching new medicines. Positioning the State of Israel on par with western countries that are promoting medical innovation requires Israel to adapt its intellectual property laws to meet the highest international standards.

Drug research and development is a long, expensive and complex process that requires tremendous resources and scientific expertise. According to the latest statistics, it takes an average of between 10 and 15 years to develop a new drug, at an overall cost exceeding USD 2.6 billion. It is also a process that involves numerous risks and challenges. Out of the 5,000 molecules researched by pharmaceutical companies, only five have been investigated in clinical trials and only one molecule on average is approved as a drug and marketed for patient treatments. Considering the tremendous complexity of the medicines currently being developed in the global market, only a small percentage of the new medicines approved for marketing are generating revenues that exceed their research and development cost.

The advantage of exclusivity that is anchored under the intellectual property laws (patents, regulatory protection of confidential information in drug registration dossiers and additional protections) is that it enables pharmaceutical companies to continue their research and development activities for the advancement of medicine and public health.