Elon Law student Courtney Pine, working with Public Citizen’s Global Access to Medicines Program this summer, coauthored an IP-Watch article that makes the case for laws that foster faster innovation in the development of biologics used to treat medical conditions.
The Intellectual Property Watch (IP-Watch) article, titled “Decision Time On Biologics Exclusivity: Eight Years Is No Compromise” was authored by Pine, a member of the Class of 2016 at Elon Law, and Dr. Burcu Kilic, legal counsel in Public Citizen’s Global Access to Medicines Program.
“Extended monopolies can threaten innovation, which relies on prior knowledge, with progress measured by the next innovation, not the last. Therefore, policies that lengthen the time of exclusivity may actually reduce the pace of innovation because it stifles discovery of new or improved biologic treatments,” Kilic and Pine write. “As [Trans-Pacific Partnership] negotiators and trade ministers gather in Maui to attempt to resolve these contentious issues and others, they should be mindful of the devastating effects that excessive periods of exclusivity can have on patient access and future innovation.”
In her summer work experience with Global Citizen, Pine’s work has involved international trade agreements currently being negotiated (Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership). Pine has analyzed the intellectual property chapters that have been leaked by various sources. She has been examining how these provisions could impact access to affordable medications in developing countries that are members of the trade agreements, such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
“With international law and intellectual property law intermingling more and more, I feel like my experience working with these mega trade agreements has prepared me to be on the forefront of IP law in the U.S.,” Pine said. “I feel like my intellectual property law courses prepared me for my experience this summer because I had a well established understanding of patent law and could readily apply my knowledge.”
Pine is the 2015-2106 president of the Intellectual Property Society at Elon Law. Her career interests include IP litigation.