In the United States any person or organization can patent an
             invention or original concept for a period of 17 years during which time
             the idea or the product cannot be duplicated, manufactured or sold by
             anybody else other than the patent holder. Patenting has been sorely abused
             as many drug manufacturers have literally monopolized the market by
             obtaining patents for important life saving drugs. Patenting creates a
             monopolistic market scenario in which the patentee who enjoys a competition
             free market dictates the price of the drugs. Invariably these drugs are
             priced very high and it is the consumers who are affected the most.
             While we cannot neglect the fact that the patentee has spent millions
             of dollars in research and development of the drug we cannot totally ignore
             the consequences for the consumers as well. The swelling prices of
             prescription drugs are definitely forcing us to thinkover alternative
             options and importing cheaper drugs are certainly a choice to be
             considered. The government formulated the MEDSA (Medicine Equity and drug
             safety act) to facilitate the import of cheaper drugs from other countries
             but owing to safety considerations the act is yet to be enacted. There are
             arguments that the cost that will be incurred by FDA in testing and
             approving these gray goods would minimize any potential benefit for the U.S
             So with MEDSA yet to be implemented the domination of the monopolies
             continues. What's even more alarming is that Patentee's go out of the way
             to delay the generic drugs from coming to the markets. A case in example is
             Paxil' a drug that continues to earn huge profits for GlaxoSmithKline.
             The company has made serious infringements and has managed to freeze any
             competition by obtaining new patents for the various ingredients in the
             drug. Market statistics indicate that Paxil continues to earn $4.4 million
             ...