CONJUGATE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 AND TRIPS ON THE PHARMACEUTICAL DRUG PRICES AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

Abstract

COVID-19 waves were the deadliest health crisis faced by the residents of planet earth in the 21^th century. This outbreak of SARV-CoV-2 virus and its variants has impacted nearly all of the world in a short window of 16 months. Almost all the nations in the world had maintained a complete lockdown in all the spheres to withstand this medical health emergency. Thus, COVID-19 has a deep impact on the global economy and commerce because of lockdowns, and limited movements as defined in COVID-19 protocol guidelines for its prevention. The trade modalities of the pharmaceutical industry, which is already being governed under the TRIPS and WHO agreements, also got effected like other sectors of the economy. The significant setbacks for the pharmaceutical industry were the disruptions in the operations due to clogged supply chains of raw materials and stalled production units. On the contrary, the opportunity for the invention of vaccines provides the spur for research and development. Certainly, the prices of the drugs and marketing strategies have also been adjusted during this period. In this paper, authors have tried to trace and survey the combined effects of COVID-19 and TRIPS on the pharmaceutical industry’s marketing manoeuvres and the prices of the drugs.