The pharmaceutical sector does not escape from the immediate challenges that digitalization will entail and its convergence with other traditional sectors such as the life sciences and health.
In addition to this scenario is the search for strategies to cope with the constant decline of the once lucrative sales associated with products protected by intellectual property such as the outsourcing of R&D activities or their focus on product lines with less demands on the increasing regulatory pressure on the sector and development cost.
In this context, there has been an increase in merger and acquisition processes in the sector that, in an attempt to re-invent, wants to place the patient as a centre around which to design services that increase their quality of life and the improvement of his perception towards pharmaceutical companies. In this strategy and in the aforementioned process of building trust, pharmaceutical companies find in the trademark system an ideal instrument.
As for the level of statistics of trademark applications during the last few years, according to World Trademark Review, 10 pharmaceutical companies are the biggest applicants with Pfizer, Novartis, Merck & Co, GSK, Bayer and Sanofi at the top showing the strength of the sector and its potential for growth in Europe and the United States in particular, confirming the leading role of these assets in their marketing and differentiation strategy.
As regards the most requested classes in this sector, it is relevant, according to the dynamics described at the beginning, the growing appearance within the heading of class 5 (where the pharmaceutical products have a place) of the terms “dietetic supplements” and the increase of applications in class 44, related to medical services, hygiene and beauty, among others.
Finally, in terms of territorial scope, it should be noted that most of the trademark applications originated in China and India although these markets are not among the main ones of interest to the major players in the sector due to the existing pressure to drop prices.
